Naracoorte’s Kincraig Hotel, part-owned by Ollie Wines and Angus Monfries, in administration

A regional pub part-owned by Port Adelaide co-captain Ollie Wines and the club’s former forward Angus Monfries has closed its doors after falling into administration.

Ollie Wines and Angus Monfries at the Kincraig Hotel in Naracoorte. Picture: Facebook

• Old Friend bar and restaurant evicted from CBD premises
• The Archer to reopen under new management

A regional pub, part-owned by Port Adelaide co-captain Ollie Wines and the club’s former forward Angus Monfries, has closed its doors after falling into administration.

Management of Naracoorte’s Kincraig Hotel notified its customers via Facebook that it had been forced to close its doors due to “issues relating to council fire safety compliance”.

However, company records reveal that administrators were appointed to the entity operating the pub - Solomons Mines Investments Pty Ltd - yesterday.

Wines and Monfries each own a 25 per cent stake in the business, with Brett Viney and Matthew Mitchell listed as the other shareholders.

According to ASIC documents, Monfries resigned as a director of the company in February this year, while Wines stepped down as a director in March.

The Facebook post announcing the closure of the Kincraig Hotel in Naracoorte. Picture: Facebook

The Facebook post, which appeared on Tuesday, said the pub’s doors would remain closed “until further notice”.

“It is with a heavy heart we have to inform you that due to issues relating to council fire safety compliance, we will be closing our doors until further notice,” it said.

“We have been tirelessly working with all parties involved to fix these issues but have been unable to make any meaningful headway with the timeline provided, leading to this decision.

“We are still optimistic that we can find (we) will be able to resolve these issues but until then we apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.”

However, the local council has rejected management's reason for the pub’s closure, claiming there had been no fire safety notices issued by it to the hotel.

“Council has been liaising with the Kincraig Hotel managers for approximately 12 months on building fire safety,” Naracoorte Lucindale Council council said in a statement.

“Most of the matters relating to building fire safety were located in the upstairs accommodation area, and thus had no impact on the majority of Kincraig Hotel’s operations such as bars, dining room, beer garden, bottle shop or gaming area.

“Council considers that the Kincraig Hotel was close to remedying all building fire safety requirements, and accordingly, we do not accept that council would be the primary reason for their decision to close.”

Thrilled to be involved in the development of the new Kincraig Hotel in Naracoorte! https://t.co/kJhZwjZUdR pic.twitter.com/snkSsCcDMn

— Angus Monfries (@AngusMonfries) March 20, 2018

The Kincraig Hotel was acquired by Solomons Mines Investments - part of the Bloody Mary Group - last year, after its previous operator fell into administration.

The historic pub was reopened in February last year after a refurbishment.

Hundreds of Facebook users have responded to the hotel’s post, with some claiming local tradespeople and suppliers have been left out of pocket following the company’s appointment of administrators.

However, Bloody Mary Group director Brett Viney denied those claims and said appointing administrators was the best way of dealing with ongoing fire compliance issues.

“There's been an ongoing fire compliance issue dispute between us and the landlord since settlement,” he said.

“Pending court action I don’t want to comment.”

Mr Viney said he hoped the venue would reopen its doors once the dispute was settled.

Administrator Stephen Duncan from Duncan Powell said property compliance issues relating to fire safety remained unrectified.

“Accordingly it was considered prudent by the directors to cease operating the business whilst the compliance issues are dealt with, and in conjunction, allowing consideration and implementation of a financial/management restructuring,” he said in a statement.

A number of Bloody Mary Group’s other venues have faced financial difficulties in recent months.

Adelaide CBD bar and restaurant Old Friend was evicted from its Pirie St premises last month after failing to pay more than $120,000 in rent to its landlords.

The group was also operator of The Archer hotel at North Adelaide when it fell into administration in October. That venue has since reopened under new management.

The Advertiser has contacted Port Adelaide for comment.