Comlek survives voluntary administration with new debt repayment plan
About 140 jobs were on the chopping block after a major Mackay business entered voluntary administration. But a crucial meeting with creditors has kept them safe and put the company back on track.
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A major Mackay business has avoided collapse following a crucial meeting with creditors, preserving 140 jobs and multiple contracts in the mining and labour hire space.
Comlek Group entered voluntary administration in December after it was slapped with a $9.4m tax claim from the Queensland Revenue Office for allegedly unpaid payroll tax going back to 2010.
On January 19 the company’s directors proposed a debt repayment plan that will see it set aside $2.3m for creditors.
The plan allocates 60 per cent of the money to the QRO and 40 per cent to other creditors.
The exact amount of money Comlek will pay to the QRO is unclear because the final figure hangs on how much “cash at bank” the company holds and whether it can recover money allegedly owed to it by other firms, but 60 per cent of $2.3m works out to about $1.4m.
The meeting’s minutes state the QRO will get back something in the range of 7.8 to 17.4 cents on the dollar.
A majority of the company’s employees and some of its creditors voted for the plan, though the QRO, citing a public interest claim, opposed the proposal.
Administrator and meeting chairperson Andrew McCabe exercised a casting vote to break the tie and carry the arrangement through, which he argued was a preferable option to liquidation.
“The alternative is liquidation where they (the creditors) would have lost everything,” he said.
“They choose between liquidation and deed of company arrangement – and the DOCA provided a higher return than liquidation.
“It is the better of the two outcomes.”
It is understood the QRO is considering an appeal.
The minutes show keeping jobs afloat was a factor in Mr McCabe’s decision.
“It (the DOCA) maintains the employment of the companies’ employees, maximises the chances of the companies continuing in existence and results in a better return for the companies’ creditors than an immediate winding up of the companies,” the minutes state.
Comlek Group director Michael Donaldson said the business was now “safe”.
“I would like to thank all the Comlek staff, suppliers and creditors for standing by us,” he said.
Control of the Mackay Harbour-headquartered company is expected to revert back to the directors this week.
The company consists of a range of entities offering services to Mackay and the Bowen Basin including labour hire, electrical, engineering and mechanical services.
The company has serviced BMA and Lucas Drilling and alongside mining, it has branched out into tourism and entertainment, providing workers to islands on the Reef.
Comlek’s financial statements show it has been profitable in the past two years, booking a net profit of $3.3m in the 2021 financial year and $231,000 the 2022 financial year.
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Originally published as Comlek survives voluntary administration with new debt repayment plan
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