Traders scramble to regain control of websites following demise of Gold Coast-based firm
The sudden closure of one of the nation’s big digital marketing agencies, based on the Gold Coast, has left thousands of small business owners scrambling to regain control of their websites and other assets.
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DIGITAL DISASTER
The sudden closure of one of the nation’s big digital marketing agencies has left thousands of small business owners with a big headache.
Plenty of traders are scrambling to regain control of their websites and other assets following the demise of Gold Coast-based BeLocal Today Australia Pty Ltd.
We learned on Monday that ASIC has initiated strike-off action against the company, which launched two years ago and was based at Bundall.
The sole director and owner, Ferdous Haider, could not be reached for comment.
In online postings he describes himself as a “pioneer” in the digital space, with an eight-year career that has included postings with some of the industry’s heavy hitters.
He claims to have managed campaigns for the likes of Microsoft, Bunnings, Hyundai, Kia, Target and Coles Insurance.
But court records show that problems had been brewing for a while.
He was personally sued four times last year in Brisbane courts and only lodged a defence in one of the matters, a damages dispute which remains ongoing.
In the most recent case, vendor finance group Print Management Facilities Australia won a default order in March to claim moneys owing after Haider failed to file a defence. The other two lawsuits still remain before the court.
Now with the collapse of BeLocal, rival operators are swooping in to snare the clients.
“We’ve already started getting phone calls from businesses who are scrambling to migrate their assets away from BeLocal before all of their digital assets are gone for good,’’ one said.
SPLASH OUT
A seasoned Brisbane mining identity has dug deep, splashing out nearly $1.86m to bulk up an already substantial holding in his resources company.
Nick Mather acquired 23.3 million shares last week in his DGR Global business, which controls a raft of subsidiaries, including Armour Energy, AusTin Mining, SolGold and Dark Horse Resources.
The move came just a day before DGR revealed that it had finalised a capital raising which rustled up more than $16m.
The money arrives at an opportune time, with DGR suffering a near $6m net loss in the last financial year and $4.43m of red ink in 2019.
Mather, a geoscientist who has spent more than 30 years in exploration and resources investment around the world, has been at the helm of DGR for almost two decades.
TERMINAL FLOAT
It’s one of the biggest floats of the year and we’ll get a clearer picture of what’s going on later this week,
Canadian private equity mob Brookfield Asset Management is poised to release a prospectus for the IPO of its Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal on Thursday, with expectations it aims to raise about $1bn.
Brookfield will continue to own 49 per cent of the asset, which is valued at up to $3.5bn.
We learned on Monday that Damien Frawley and his crew at QIC are set to take a 10 per cent stake.
The facility, south of Mackay at Hay Point, is one of Australia’s main metallurgical coal export facilities.
It handles about a fifth of the world’s seaborne trade in that type of coal, with the sale including the vital “take or pay’’ contracts used with the big miners.
The terminal was previously owned by now-defunct investment group Babcock & Brown, which went bust in 2009 at the height of the GFC.
Brookfield gained control after committing to a $1.8bn recapitalisation scheme.