Gold Coast lending firm Crystal Blue goes under

A firm specialising in short-term loans on the Gold Coast tourist strip has gone under, leaving a list of creditors owed just south of a million dollars.

MONEY TROUBLES

A GOLD Coast money lending firm has gone into administration owing just south of a million dollars. Crystal Blue Group, which operated an outfit called Crystal Blue Commercial Loans offering 30-90 days loans of up to $150,000, was run by 52-year-old businessman Frank Marino.

Marion also is a former director of a series of other companies including Grange Properties Tamworth and Easy Choice Properties.

According to its website, Crystal Blue had offices in Southport and Castle Hill in NSW and was a “nationally operated short term business funding specialist that could assist” with caveat loans, first and second mortgages and unsecured business lending.

David Hambleton, of Rodgers Reidy, has been appointed the administrator but says it too early to comment on the issues behind the company’s collapse.

About 12 creditors are reported to be owed around $900,000 with the company facing a possible law suit that it had no financial capacity to defend. Marino did not respond to a request for comment.

ON AIR

BRISBANE radio czar Will Allen has come up with a cunning way to lure staff back into the office following COVID-19.

Allen, who oversees HIT105 and sister station Triple M as boss of Southern Cross Austereo in Brisbane, has installed a Merlo café in the middle of the radio studios at The Barracks in Petrie Terrace. Allen says the café’s state-of-the-art La Marzorco Coffee machine can make up to 200 brews a day.

Caffeine aside, it has been a baptism of fire for Allen (illustrated) who took on the role at SCA just as the pandemic shutdown was starting in March. He says the technical challenges of radio announcers broadcasting from home – and in one case from a caravan – was challenging but the station had passed with flying colours.

Radio boss Will Allen

“We even had to pull some of our remote broadcast equipment out of Suncorp Stadium,” says Allen. “It was like having nine remote radio stations. We probably only had 20 people in the studio building out of total staff of 140 at one stage.” Allen admits revenue had slumped during the pandemic, so much so that SCA qualified for the Federal Government’s Job Keeper program.

But he now sees some green shoots of recovery as cafes, restaurants and other businesses start to reopen. “I think we are through the worst of it,” says Allen. “Some of the car dealers are having a great time.”

Allen, who has worked in the radio industry for two decades, is part of a storied broadcasting family. His dad Bill Allen helped bring the legendary 4IP licence to Brisbane from Ipswich in the mid-1960s.

SLEEP TIGHT

CONSOLIDATED Pastoral Company boss Troy Setter was among the senior Queensland business figures to roll out a swag for the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout on Thursday night.

Held in backyards, on couches and in cars this year to be COVID-safe, the event raises much-needed funds for the homeless. Setter flew back in to Brisbane on Wednesday from Katherine to take part in his first sleep out event.

He had looked forward to spending a night under the stars with fellow CEOs, but said he was hoping to make an impact on others to put the focus on the plight of the homeless, particularly in rural and regional Australia.

"Homelessness and the lack of good accommodation or safety is not just a city problem, it is also a bush problem, particularly in rural and regional Australia,” Setter says.