Restaurateur Edoardo Perlo banned by watchdog over failed hospitality firms

Salt Meat Cheese restaurateur Edoardo Perlo has been banned from managing companies for four years, following links to the collapse of several restaurants that owed nearly $3m.

The corporate watchdog has moved against high-profile restaurateur Edoardo Perlo after his involvement in the collapse of several Sydney hospitality businesses.

ASIC will disqualify Brisbane-based Mr Perlo from managing companies for a period of four years due to his links to three failed firms including Popina Kitchen, formerly trading as Salt Meats Cheese Circular Quay.

Mr Perlo was the director of Gasa Gusto, SMC Drummoyne and Popina Kitchen between 2015 and 2020 which were all involved in the Sydney retail food industry.

ASIC said that it was concerned that in relation to Popina Kitchen and SMC Drummoyne, Mr Perlo had traded the companies while insolvent, failed to lodge documents with the Australian Taxation Office and failed to keep proper business records.

ASIC said the three companies owed a total of $2.8m, including $1.3m to the Australian Taxation Office and $162,000 for workers’ compensation insurance and payroll tax.

The watchdog said that in deciding to disqualify Mr Perlo until June 2027, it relied on reports lodged by liquidator Steven Kugel, of the Insolvency Experts, Andrew Sallway of BDO Australia and Adam Preiner of Integra Restructuring. Mr Kugel was appointed liquidator of Casa, Mr Sallway to SMC and Mr Preiner to Popina.

Edoardo Perlo

ASIC has the power to disqualify a person from managing companies for up to five years if he or she was an officer of two or more failed companies that in opinion of liquidators were unable to pay their debts.

Comment has been sought from Mr Perlo.

When it opened in 2016, Popina was initially billed as a place where Italian wood-fired pizzas, cakes and pasta were offered on a menu with Middle Eastern kofta, falafel and shakshuka.

The restaurant said the offering would be unique among Sydney’s diverse cuisine with flavours and spices of the Middle East marrying the wood-fired pizzas and ancient grain flour pastas of Italy. Scores of restaurants and cafes have closed their doors in recent years following the impact of extended lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Restaurants and cafes are at most risk of default compared to other sectors, according to a recent report by CreditorWatch. It says operators in the food and beverage sector have a 7.2 per cent chance of defaulting on payments next financial year, a higher rate than companies in the construction, transport, postal and warehousing industries.

CreditorWatch says that while restaurants have benefited from strong trading conditions, economic conditions going into the new financial year would not be favourable.

Mr Perlo co-owns several Italian restaurants in Brisbane, including Salt Meats Cheese, Bar Ombre’, Eterna Dining, La Costa, Cielo Rooftop, Catalina Rooftop and Evita Dining.

Originally published as Restaurateur Edoardo Perlo banned by watchdog over failed hospitality firms