Kooralbyn Valley Resort creditors accept rescue package worth 5c in the dollar
Creditors have approved a salvage deal for an embattled Gold Coast hinterland golf resort under which they are expected to be paid a tiny fraction of the millions of dollars owed.
Creditors have approved a salvage deal for an embattled Gold Coast hinterland golf resort under which they are expected to receive just 5c in the dollar for millions owed.
A vote on a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) for Kooralbyn Resort Pty Ltd, which operates the Kooralbyn Valley Resort in the Scenic Rim, was passed at a virtual meeting of creditors on Tuesday.
It comes after resort owner, Brisbane real estate mogul Yong “Peter” Huang, placed the company into voluntary administration last month after the Australian Taxation Office launched Federal Court wind-up action over a $4.4m tax debt.
It’s the latest occasion in which the golf resort – developed in the 1970s and where stars Adam Scott and Jason Day cut their teeth and where Kerry Packer once played polo – has hit the financial rough.
In a report to creditors last week, administrator Travis Pullen, of B&T Advisory, said Mr Huang may have committed offences under the Corporations Act relating to exercising care and diligence, good faith and preventing insolvent trading.
Mr Huang rejected this, saying it was “unfair and false” to portray him as a “corporate offender” without a court judgement.
Documents filed with corporate watchdog the Australian Securities and Investments Commission reveal Korralbyn Resort owes a total of $14.995m to 52 creditors.
They include the tax debt, more than $4.5m owed to secured creditors including Balmain Private Debt Trust and more than $5.5m said to be owed to Mr Huang himself and related companies.
Staff are owed more than $400,000 – one of them almost $76,000 – with more than $121,000 also owing in payroll tax.
Mr Pullen had recommended creditors approve the DOCA, warning they faced receiving only about 2.8c in the dollar if they opted to liquidate Kooralbyn Resort.
Under the approved deal, Mr Huang will tip in $620,000 over six months to repay creditors a fraction of what they are owed. He and his companies are excluded from the deed.
In a Facebook post, the resort said the DOCA’s approval “marks an important milestone for Kooralbyn Resort and provides a clear framework for the business to continue operating while working towards a stable and sustainable future”.
“We remain committed to strengthening the resort, supporting our staff, and continuing to contribute positively to the Kooralbyn community,” the post said.
Mr Huang, who bought Kooralbyn from receivers in 2013 and has made multiple attempts to sell it, said the ATO had agreed to dismiss the wind-up application which was due to be heard in the Federal Court on Wednesday.
He has blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the resort’s woes and lashed the “aggressive” and “often reckless” ATO for trying to liquidate businesses like his over unpaid debts.
