Serious doubts over millionaire pub baron Godfrey Mantle’s empire staying afloat

Serious doubts have emerged over whether millionaire pub baron Godfrey Mantle’s empire can stay afloat just weeks after winning a 20-year council lease over a Mt Coot-tha restaurant.

SERIOUS doubts have emerged over whether millionaire pub baron Godfrey Mantle’s empire can stay afloat just weeks after winning a 20-year council lease over a Mt Coot-tha restaurant.

The Courier-Mail can reveal a cloud hangs over some of Brisbane’s most popular venues after a stark warning about the company’s uncertain financial position by auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It comes amid calls for a review of the Mt Coot-tha lease deal after this newspaper revealed casual staff in its venues were being paid below the award under a 19-year-old agreement.

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Godfrey and Jenny Mantle.

Mr Mantle and wife Jenny’s growing Mantle Group Hospitality includes a string of bustling Pig ‘N’ Whistle pubs, CBD venue Jimmy’s on the Mall and nearby Italian eatery Milano.

Also taking in Brisbane’s The Charming Squire pub and Sydney’s The Squire’s Landing, it is one of the state’s biggest and oldest private hospitality outfits.

The business is growing fast – it has eyed a stockmarket float and in November won the council tender for the 20-year lease of the cafe and restaurant with panoramic city views atop Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha tourist drawcard.

But Mantle Group’s latest annual report reveals it is also battling funding issues. It breached loan agreements in 2018-19 and has been forced to seek refinancing.

PwC warns in its audit of the accounts that a “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt” on the hospitality businesses’ ability to continue operating.

Godfrey Mantle of the Mantle Group in front of Jimmy's in the Mall.

Profits dived from $2.9 million to a $563,000 net loss in 2017-18, with net liabilities of $1.48 million, according to the financial statements for that year, which were lodged last month.

“As a result of the expiry of the finance facilities and status of the refinancing, there is material uncertainty that casts doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern and therefore, that it may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business as to the going concern status of the company,” its annual report states.

However, the report continues that Mr Mantle believes it will be able to finalise refinancing and meet its debts.

The dramas were aired less than two months after Brisbane City Council ranked Jimmy’s on the Mall the top choice to take over the Mt Coot-tha cafe and restaurant’s 20-year lease.

Both council and Mantle Group this week refused to respond to the newspaper’s questions about whether the funding issues were made known during the tender process.

Council had ranked the risk of business failure as “low” in its evaluation of the lease bid.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner refused to comment yesterday, but a council spokesman said “it would conduct a review of any lessee who was found to have breached any of their lease requirements”.

“Finalisation of the lease is progressing in accordance with future plans for the site,” the spokesman said. Questioned on the staff wages issue, council said that was a matter for other federal agencies.

The Summit Restaurant at Mt Coot-Tha. Picture: John Gass

A Mantle Group spokeswoman said the company was finalising project funding for new projects including Mount Coot-tha, which was expected to be completed during January 2020.

“The company continues to operate business as usual for all its venues and staff continue to be paid correctly and in accordance with the existing certified agreement,” she said.

Mantle Group has offered council $1 million a year base rent for the cafe and restaurant leases and promised to revamp the cafe site at no cost to council.

Industry sources say Mantle Group’s bid was more than double the current rent.

Jonathan Sri.

Greens councillor Jonathan Sri has called for a review of the Mt Coot-tha tender following the newspaper’s reports that staff in Mantle Group restaurants were not being paid penalty rates.

There is no suggestion Mr Mantle was personally involved in the underpayments.

“You have a situation here where a company is winning a tender because they are offering to deliver better value for money but they are only presumably delivering that better value for money because they are not paying staff fairly,” Cr Sri said.

“I think the other parties that tendered for that lease would be right to feel hard done by.”

Mantle Group last month sold its Redbank Plains Pig ‘N’ Whistle, pouring the $11 million proceeds into repaying some of its ANZ finance facility.

New projects include overhauling historic Naldham House in the CBD, formerly home to the now-defunct Polo Club.