Glenelg Pier Hotel and Royal Terrace Hotel operator owes creditors thousands as Adelaide wedding venues offer helping hand to couples in need
Adelaide wedding venues and industry suppliers are offering a lifeline to couples potentially impacted by the collapse of a major hotel operator.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
- November 2016: O-Bahn roadworks force Royal Hotel to close
- July 2018: Rent debt forces Pier under
- February 2019: Rebranded Royal Terrace Hotel opens
- March 2019: Pub baron accused of failing to pay bills
- June 2019: And his development company faces imminent closure
A popular wedding venue which unexpectedly closed its doors, leaving couples’ nuptials in limbo, could reopen under a possible rescue plan.
The Glenelg Pier Hotel is among five venues caught up in the collapse of South Australian hospitality group Entertainment Venues Australia, which was placed in liquidation yesterday.
Liquidator Stephen Duncan of Duncan Powell yesterday met with the hotel’s landlord and Pier’s senior management to try and “continue the business in some form”.
“We trying to put together a plan that’s going to look after the business and the people that have future bookings; that’s very important,” he said.
“Over the next couple of days we’ll hopefully have that sorted.”
Mr Duncan said he did not intend to try and reopen the Royal Terrace Hotel, which had only begun trading again in February after being closed for more than two years.
He said he was yet to determine the extent of Entertainment Venues Australia’s debts but said it did owe money to the ATO.
Panicked brides-in-waiting have taken to social media concerned that their biggest day could be ruined after The Advertiser revealed Entertainment Venues Australia — which operated the Royal Terrace Hotel, Glenelg Pier Hotel and Links Lady Bay Hotel , Propoganda club and Brougham Adelaide — had gone bust.
One woman contacted the paper saying that she paid a $7000 deposit towards her planned wedding at the Pier on October 26.
“We have to have it that weekend because we have guests coming from overseas and interstate,” she said.
ARE YOU AFFECTED BY THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOTELS? Email us at tiser@theadvertiser.com.au
“I know of another lady in the same boat as me whose supposed to be married there next month.”
The Mawson Lakes Hotel has offered to help any affected couples.
“It’s awful to hear about the closure of a number of venues in Adelaide yesterday, and seeing a number of couples without a wedding venue,” the hotel said on its Facebook page.
“If you are someone or know someone who is affected by this, feel free to reach out to us as we would be happy to help however we can to make the day perfect.”
The venue’s sales and marketing co-ordinator Bec Schoff said the venue was heavily booked this year with only a few dates available.
“We will try to do whatever we can to help however we can,” she said.
Findon-based Festival Function Centre’s director Larry Dichiera said the venue would offer discounted rates for any affected couples.
“We’ll look at what their budget was, what they had arranged at their location and not only try and match that but even offer a better rate, so that if they have lost any deposit we can try and compensate them for that,” he said.
“We have multiple rooms and so we can hold three to four weddings at one time.”
He said the venue was heavily booked but urged couples to check availability.
Adelaide Pop-Up Weddings, which tailors smaller wedding ceremonies and receptions, wedding, has also offered support to couples in need of help.
The Advertiser has sought comment from the Glenelg Pier Hotel’s landlord to determine if he would honour wedding receptions that have already been booked at the venue.
It comes as suppliers and creditors have told Entertainment Venues Australia — whose director is Elli Cakar — owes them thousands of dollars in unpaid bills.
Links Lady Bay Hotel landlord Mike Hill said he evicted the company on July 5 after it fell three months’ behind in rent.
“They owe me a lot of money,” he said. “They were taking money and I don’t know what they were doing with it.”
He said the hotel, which includes a bar, restaurant and accommodation, was trading as usual.
Commercial Flooring SA managing director Damien Boulton said Mr Cakar has refused to pay his Pooraka company about $23,000 for installing flooring in the Pier and The Brougham in August.
“We are a small family-run business that is now struggling to get past such a financial loss because of another man’s greed,” he said.
Two entertainment suppliers, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told The Advertiser that Mr Cakar owed them $3000 and $3250 respectively for services they supplied at the Pier.
“We have gone out of our way to try and make it (the venue) a success,” one of them said, adding a photographer was also owed $1500.
“The numbers (customers) have been going up as far as we can tell, it’s been getting busier but we don’t know what’s been going on.”
His colleague said Mr Cakar had “spread himself too thin” by taking over six venues all at once.
“Most of those venues needed work to start being profitable, he was losing money in six different venues, except the Pier which was the only one that was making money,” he said.
Mr Cakar also had the lease for the Anchorage Hotel at Victor Harbor and still runs the Propaganda on Currie Street.
He bought The Royal Terrace Hotel, Glenelg Pier Hotel and Propaganda from liquidators last year.