Adelaide University entrepreneurship adviser Kristian Livolsi in rent dispute over Victoria Square eatery The Taxpayer
A COMPANY owned by the entrepreneur in residence at Adelaide University’s ThincLab, Kristian Livolsi, is being pursued for more than $30,000 in allegedly unpaid commercial rent.
A COMPANY owned by the entrepreneur in residence at Adelaide University’s ThincLab, Kristian Livolsi, is being pursued for more than $30,000 in allegedly unpaid commercial rent.
Mr Livolsi, who billed himself as “an expert in failure and renewal” when he was appointed in December last year, is the director of a company alleged to owe $30,464.52 to Sinnon Pty Ltd, which is the lessor of 193 Victoria Square, where Mr Livolsi ran a food business called The Taxpayer until recently.
The business is now closed. Mr Livolsi told The Advertiser the intent was to reopen it elsewhere, however, and the debt was disputed. Mr Livolsi is the sole director of The Taxpayer Pty Ltd, which is co-owned with Frank Vounasis.
Notices are displayed at the premises which state that Sinnon had entered the premises and “distrained” various assets.
It is alleged The Taxpayer Pty Ltd is in “default as lessee under and pursuant to a written Memorandum of Lease and various Deeds of Extension of Lease in respect of the premises … including your failure to pay rent in accordance with the Lease and as demanded in writing on various occasions’’.
Sinnon is claiming the $30,464.52 plus $1500 in estimated costs.
Mr Livolsi, who is also the publican of the Rob Roy Hotel on Halifax St said it was “not a big issue”.
“We are in a dispute. There’s not much I can say other than that we are in dispute only because it’s significant,’’ he said.
“It’s not a lot of money. There’s a bank guarantee that covers that debt regardless and we’ve been working pretty hard to implement a new tenant in there to take over the plant and equipment anyway … it’s not really a big deal.’’
Mr Livolsi is also an adjunct professor in the University’s Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC) and a board member of the Adelaide University Business School Industry Advisory Board, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His profile lists Mr Livolsi as managing director of three companies, a director of three more and chairman of two. He is also described as an “angel investor’’.
In the press release from Adelaide University in December last year it said Mr Livolsi had a business empire in 2008 “with a turnover in excess of $30 million.
“By early 2010, his fortunes had changed — he was penniless, homeless and couch surfing,
relying on the generosity of others, and seeking treatment for depression,’’ the release says.
“However, by 2013, he had relaunched his entrepreneurial career and now oversees a number of successful entrepreneurial ventures and businesses.’’
Mr Livolsi was previously involved in the former Adelaide restaurants XO Supper Club, Citrus, The Observatory and #10 Cucina e Bar.
The lawyers for Mr Livolsi’s former landlord, Sinnon Pty Ltd, have been contacted for comment.
An Adelaide University spokesman said it was a private matter for Mr Livolsi.
cameron.england@news.com.au