Former jailbird says he is flying high with $50m business

About two years ago David Blake was released from jail with $150 in his pocket.

Today he owns a business which employs eight people and turns over $50 million.

“My life is back on track,” he said.

He was released from prison on Christmas Eve, 2019, a “broken man”, Blake said.

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His wife then told him she wanted a divorce and, at his lowest point, he called his father in Christchurch and asked him if he could come home. He tried various jobs until he and a friend started Investment Build.

The business is based in a serviced office in Christchurch and caters to people looking for residential investments. As Blake, 61, described it, the business, which is not a registered company, offered a section and build package to its investors, specialising in duplexes.

The investor then paid the money to Investment Build’s accountant who used the money to pay the builder for that project only. Investment Build then project managed the build and got a margin on the build contract. Blake said his firm built 43 houses in its first year and expected to build another 100 in its second year.

“The customer never has to deal with the builder directly and the builder doesn’t have to deal with the customer directly,” Blake said.

“We currently have 46 houses either completed or under construction. We are currently selling 10 new projects a month… We now have a constant stream of clients waiting on us to create new projects.”

He also operates a golf scheme that invites golfers to register to win a jackpot for a hole in one.

Blake has a complex background. He has been bankrupted three times and been connected to a number of company disasters and scams.

Formerly known as David Colin Hughey, Blake was first bankrupted in 1992, when 32, and then again in 2004, the latter bankruptcy lasting until 2011.

In February 2010 he was convicted on five charges of carrying on business while an undischarged bankrupt. Because of those convictions, he was prohibited from being a director of a company for five years. His prohibition expired on February 10, 2015.

The pattern began to repeat when he was again bankrupted in 2017 and again prosecuted for managing companies while prohibited. He was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment for the offences. The High Court then banned him from being a director for 12 years in 2019.

Some of his difficulties arose from two companies – Hygiene Foundation and Q Technology – operated with Lance Jared Ryan. They were placed in liquidation in 2013 and 2014 owing creditors $700,000 and $600,000 respectively.

Hygiene Foundation promoted itself as a hygiene consulting firm, offering a white tick programme to clients who passed tests using equipment supplied by the company. Clients were listed as members and were entitled to advertise the tick and got certificates.

At the time, staff told Stuff the scheme was essentially a scam because the certificates and ticks were often handed out without testing. The staff claimed Blake was running the company.

His associate Lance Ryan would later be investigated by the Serious Fraud Office over a Christchurch-based Ponzi scheme which took $8m from investors. Ryan was jailed for seven years and six months for frauds connected with the scam.

Blake’s golfing buddy, Christchurch cleaner Jimmie McNicholl, was in 2018 given 11 months’ home detention and 350 hours of community work for his lesser role in the Ponzi scam.

Blake “totally” agreed he had a chequered background but said he had learned his lessons and should not be made to pay repeatedly for his past mistakes, he said.

“I have done things wrong, but I’m not doing anything wrong now.”

When asked why it had taken him until his 60s to learn his lesson he said: “I’ve learnt, I’m a slow learner.”

Having left prison with $150 in his pocket, his success was an incredible story, he said.

He claimed he told all his clients about his background but at least one investor spoken to by Stuff said Blake had not told him about his record. The investor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his build was in its early stages but seemed to be going well.

Blake said he was entitled to be involved in Investment Build as it was not a company but a sole trader. He only owned the business and had staff to operate it. He did not actively work in the business and just looked after sales and marketing.

The investors’ funds went to an accountancy company called VG Accounting, which passed on the money to the builder and other parties, he said.

“It’s the safest build a person can do… I want to make it extremely safe for my investors,” he said.

He had invested any profits back into the business and had no debts. Two of his bankruptcies were caused by his inability to pay a settlement with his wife, he claimed. The other occurred when he was young.

VG Accounting was set up by Victoria Ann Hembry in July 2019. She appears to work from home in Richmond Hill and is the company’s main shareholder.

Her husband, Richard John Hembry, is Investment Build’s financial controller and also owns one share in VG Accounting.

Vicki Hembry said her husband was a contractor of Investment Build rather than a staff member.

“Investors funds, paid at each completed stage of their build contract, are paid into VG Accountancy Limited’s Trust Account – at which point we issue a receipt of funds acknowledgement to the investor. These funds are paid to the intended recipients on the same day – we do not hold the funds overnight as a rule, payments received late in the day may be the exception but will be addressed first thing the following day. By having this additional step in place neither Investment Build nor the builder involved in the investor’s build contract receive funds that are not intended for them.“

Master builder Mike McConway said his company had built 15 homes since January 2021 through Investment Build although in each case his contract was with the individual investors.

“Everything to date has gone smoothly because he uses a third party agency that all the payments are made through,” he said.

“What I’m led to believe is that none of the Investment Build crew have access to the funds.

“I think Dave has got good intentions for Investment Build. They are sales people, not construction experts. The projects run pretty seamlessly when they get into my hands. I project manage them.”

Blake said he didn’t make any money out of the Golf Jackpot scheme although he hoped to attract advertisers. He funded the scheme because he was a “passionate golfer”. He employed two staff to run the business.

“I now enjoy golf most days and my passion which is building Jackpot Golf… it is my creative outlet to help people enjoy the game and support charities. It is also a promotional vehicle for Investment Build.

“I think everyone in the world has parts of their life where, if they had the chance, they might do something differently… I have never done anything devious to become bankrupt and in each case my intentions were always the best.”