The company behind the Royal Croquet Club will be put into administration following a disastrous foray into China
THE Royal Croquet Club’s directors say they’ve been doing their best to pay back creditors and keep them aware of what’s been going on — but some creditors have told a different story.
THE Royal Croquet Club’s directors say they’ve been doing their best to pay back creditors and keep them aware of what’s been going on but some creditors have told a different story of dodged phone calls and unanswered emails.
Tom Skipper and Stuart Duckworth said on Thursday the RCC’s parent company The Social Creative and The Royale Adelaide Club, which was the vehicle used for a disastrous foray into China, would be placed in voluntary administration, along with Royal Croquet Club Pty Ltd.
The companies behind the popular Royal Croquet Club Fringe venue owe a reported $1.1 million with business recovery firm Duncan Powell now in control of them.
This has triggered a process that will shortly result in a creditors’ meeting.
In a statement, the administrators said the directors hoped to restructure the businesses and trade out of trouble.
“Mr Skipper and Mr Duckworth have expressed their intention to put forward a restructuring solution through the voluntary administration process and work towards a positive outcome for creditors,’’ the administrators said.
A number of creditors have told The Advertiser they had found it difficult to contact the directors about debts related to services provided for this year’s Fringe event.
Mr Skipper said the companies had communicated with their creditors and all were informed yesterday of the voluntary administration process.
The Advertiser revealed last week that the company set up for the Chinese project, The Royale Adelaide Club, had been served with a demand to pay $279,456 to an unidentified creditor. Coopers Brewery is also a creditor.
Mr Skipper said the directors were given assurances by the mayor of Chinese city Qingdao that somewhere in the vicinity of four million people would visit the Qingdao International Beer Festival, held in August last year.
The rebadged Royal Adelaide Club was there to showcase SA produce and beverages — and assisted to the tune of $600,000 over two years by the State Government — but Mr Skipper said the turnout was a pale imitation of what was promised.
“We budgeted quite conservatively knowing our numbers back in Adelaide,’’ he told FiveAA on Thursday.
“We budgeted for about 7000 and realistically got about 700 a day. You could draw the conclusion that it was an absolute disaster.’’
Mr Skipper told The Advertiser that assurances that power would be supplied for free and alcohol and food imported from SA would be free from import duties were not correct, and those duties cost more than $200,000.
He said the duo’s passports were flagged by Chinese authorities and they were not allowed to leave the country before paying debts accrued in China.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese said the council had offered its support and encouragement to the project, and was a conduit for communications between Qingdao and the RCC, but it did not support the project financially or guarantee any of the attendance claims which might have been made at the Chinese end.
Mr Haese said he very much hoped the companies could trade out of their troubles and continue to hold events in Adelaide.
cameron.england@news.com.au