On 31 July 2018 Ebert Construction Ltd (Ebert) was placed into receivership. Ebert owes trade and unsecured creditors approximately $24.5m, plus another $9.3m in retention money. Upon receivership, it had less than $10,000 in its other bank accounts, which were set off against a credit card debit balance in excess of that amount. Ebert’s receivers have indicated that approximately $3.7m of the $4.6m that is captured by the new retention regime is held in a separate retentions trust account (the Fund). No amounts are expected to be paid relating to subcontractor claims in the receivership or liquidation, save for those claims to the Fund. The challenge for Ebert’s receivers (and affected principals/subcontractors) will be establishing entitlement to retentions as they fall due, which may be legally and administratively complex. Ebert's receivers have applied to the High Court for directions on whether the receivers should be appointed by the Court as receivers to manage and distribute the Fund, which subcontractors have a claim to the Fund and on what basis and, how to distribute the Fund if, as expected, there is shortfall. Receiver Richard Longman of PWC said "The act itself is not clear, it's the first time act has actually had to be used so there are many different permutations as to whose money has been held," he said. "We want to see that money paid out as soon as we possibly can, and that's why we've taken the action." This is the first high profile insolvency event where the new regime will operate in an attempt to protect retentions. The matter is set down to be heard in the High Court in Wellington on 8 November 2018.