Renewable energy player Nathan Gathercole has overseen 6 business failures since 2017
Just days after news he’d tipped his battery business into administration, more can be revealed about the dismal track record in renewable energy of this Sunshine Coast-based businessman.
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MORE TO THE STORY
It turns out that there’s a lot more to the story of Nathan Gathercole, who has overseen a litany of failures in the renewable energy space in Queensland.
We revealed at the weekend that the Sunshine Coast-based gent had just tipped his Giant Power Australia Pty Ltd into administration with $2.2m in debts.
That followed the collapse late last year of his related entity Aussie Off Grid Solar Energy Pty Ltd with $1.3 million owed to creditors.
What we have subsequently learned is that Gathercole has presided over another four company crashes since 2017. Yes, really.
That dismal track record has prompted a few interested parties to wonder why ASIC has not looked at using its extensive powers to ban him as a company director.
We asked an agency spin doctor about that on Monday but she declined to comment.
PULLING THE PLUG
Gathercole pulled the plug on his Aussie Batteries Solar 12 Volt Pty Ltd in May after three years in business, tapping BCR Advisory’s Daniel Moore to serve as administrator.
It fell over with debts of $4.12 million, with nearly $780,000 owing to unsecured creditors and the balance to related parties. There was just $6379 in the bank.
As with some of his other entities, Gathercole convinced unsecured creditors to accept a “deed of company arrangement’’ (DOCA) to keep the business afloat. He ponied up just $28,000 as a payout, which translated to just a tad over 1 cent in the dollar.
Gathercole took a similar approach with the demise of his labour hire entity BTNM Trading Pty Ltd, which went under in April with debts of $1.23 million and just $632 in the bank.
Creditors accepted a DOCA in this case too after he stumped up a mere $25,000.
These disasters followed the 2018 crash of his Sunshine Coast Labour Hire Pty Ltd, which left unsecured creditors out of pocket by nearly $435,000 and fourteen staff chasing $106,000.
A year before that Gathercole wound up his Jersey Green Pastures Milk Culture Pty Ltd, which went to the wall with almost $2 million in debts.
Gathercole, who has also spent about $3 million on property acquisitions over the past three years, did not return a call seeking comment on Monday.
CONTRACT RENEWED
One of Queensland’s most powerful and well-paid bureaucrats has quietly been rewarded with a three-year renewal of his contract.
Neil Scales will stay on as a Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, where he oversees an operating budget of more than $6 billion.
Scales, who first got the gig in early 2013, will be taking home a compo package north of $650,000 a year for his troubles.
It’s a lot of money but he’s also got a lot on his plate, including highway duplications, sourcing more train drivers and a little thing called Cross River Rail.
A Pom who previously spent time as boss of UK transport authority Merseytravel, Scales first served as head of TransLink in 2012 and briefly acted as head of troubled Queensland Rail in 2016.
NEW BOSS
It’s been 10 long months since charity group MS Queensland had a permanent CEO.
That’s finally about to change.
The organisation revealed on Monday that David Curd will take on the top job starting August 10.
Curd comes to the role with more than 20 years of experience with non-profits and another 10 years toiling in government.
He is a founder and former head of the Community Services Group and also spent time as head of the Endeavour Foundation.
Curd replaces interim boss Zane Ali, who was tapped to run the show when previous CEO Gerard Menses quit late last year after less than 12 months in the position.
Launched more than 60 years ago, the group assists people living with multiple sclerosis and other neurological issues.