SA concert promoter Phil Rankine’s companies owe more than $20 million to Adelaide identities

SA concert promoter Phil Rankine’s failed companies owe more than $20 million, including to a Crows legend and members of one of SA’s best-known families — but his luxury house cannot be sold.

• AUGUST 8: Phil Rankine’s empire falls into hands of administrators
• JUNE 21: Overseas investors sued for $4 million
• JULY 23: Third company owned by Rankine faces court action
• MAY 31: His company loses court battle over debt demand

Concert promoter Phil Rankine’s failed companies owe more than $20 million to Adelaide identities including Mark Ricciuto and members of the Kidman family, while his $1 million Tranmere home has five caveats lodged over it.

A creditors’ report into three of Mr Rankine’s failed businesses shows that companies associated with the great-grandson of Sir Sidney Kidman, William Abel-Smith, are owed $2 million, while Mr Ricciuto is owed $250,000.

Ticketmaster is owed $2 million, which the administrator of the three companies, Andrew McCabe of Wexted Advisors, said was an advance on the money raised by selling tickets for December’s two Elton John concerts in Adelaide.

Mr McCabe stressed that the main goal of all stakeholders was that the Elton John concerts go ahead smoothly, and Chugg Entertainment has previously made a similar commitment.

But Mr McCabe said a preliminary examination of Mr Rankine’s affairs showed his businesses had no money in the bank and no substantial assets.

As administrator, Mr McCabe’s job is now to piece together what money was paid in and out of the businesses: Space Events, Space Production Company and Space Entertainment.

Once that is done a number of options could be on the table including placing them in liquidation or running them under a deed of company arrangement.

Space Touring — another of Mr Rankine’s companies — was forced into liquidation by the Federal Court earlier this month after it failed to make good on a $1.1 million debt to Adelaide financier Ed Peter’s Duxton Entertainment.

It is understood members of a European consortium owed almost $4 million have converged on Adelaide in recent days to attend a winding-up hearing for one of Mr Rankine’s companies this week.

Mr Rankine, who won the inaugural season of The Block with former wife Amity Dry in 2003, has been a concert promoter in Adelaide for many years.

He recently brought Phil Collins, The Prodigy and Florence + The Machine to Adelaide, and had been raising money from wealthy investors to stage the shows.

Two of those relationships — with Mr Peter’s company, and the group of European investors that includes the former head of events at Wembley Stadium in London — have been the subject of court cases seeking to retrieve the $1.1 million and $4 million respectively the investors say they are owed.

The creditors listed on the report, prepared for a meeting held on Friday last week, include individuals or companies who appear to be investors in events, as well as trade creditors such as Coopers Brewery, which are owed lesser amounts.

One creditor who attended last Friday’s meeting said Mr Rankine attended and was greeting creditors, which was “quite strange’’.

The Advertiser has not been able to contact Mr Rankine over the past few months since his debt issues emerged.

Another attempt was made on Tuesday, and The Advertiser also contacted Mr Ricciuto and Mr Abel-Smith’s lawyers for comment. None responded.

Mr McCabe said Space Events appeared to owe about $12.5 million at the moment, Space Production about $7.5 million and Space Entertainment about $260,000, owed to the Australian Taxation Office.

These figures could change as new creditors come forward or duplicate or dubious debts are removed.

Mr McCabe said it appeared that money was put into Production and Touring and then invested into Space Events to run concerts.

“There’s further investigation and analysis to go to figure out of the investors, how do they sit … have they received money back, where have those funds gone?

“At this stage it’s too early to say exactly where the money went. We did show that some funds have been advanced from Ticketmaster to Space Events for the Elton John concerts who then passed that money back to investors from previous events.’’

Mr McCabe said there was no cash in the bank accounts and “no real assets to pursue”, hence it was important that the Elton John concerts went ahead successfully.

“Putting that aside the only other asset then is litigation, potential claims against various parties. We’re still at the very early stages of our investigation but we believe there could be action … if funds have gone to people that shouldn’t have, then perhaps preference claims against those people.

“We’re going through the books and records to say, ‘where did the money go, and who received the benefit of this $20-odd million’ because surely it wasn’t just from losses from these concerts.’’

In the court cases involving Duxton and the European consortium, it was explained that investors put their money into events, and expected a profit-share arrangement with Mr Rankine once the events were finalised.

The payments were meant to be made within 10 days of the concerts, the court documents in the $4 million matter state.

“Production has failed or otherwise refused to make payment of the total amount of $3,975,968.50, which comprises amounts owing to the plaintiffs pursuant to its obligations under the investor agreements for the Phil Collins and Florence and the Machine concerts,’’ the court documents state.

In his defence, Mr Rankine “denies that the plaintiffs, or any of them, are entitled to any relief or orders whatsoever against the defendant”.

He also denied making personal guarantees.

Mr Rankine’s Tranmere house is valued at $1.025 million but it has a mortgage and five caveats — which prevent its sale before they are lifted — over it.

Nobody was at the house on Tuesday when The Advertiser visited, and it appeared deserted.

A second creditors’ meeting is expected to be held in early September.

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