Liquidator chases pet resort bosses over $169k loan

The depth of debt owed by the Sunshine Coast Pet Resort is yet to be confirmed as liquidators chase up a $169,000 loan from the business to its directors.

Directors of the failed Sunshine Coast Pet Resort Jack and Sam Brown. Picture: Contributed

THE depth of debt owed by the failed Sunshine Coast Pet Resort is yet to be confirmed as liquidators chase up a $169,000 loan from the business to directors Jack and Sam Brown.

Ms Brown has indicated a total debt of more than $660,000 but liquidator Cameron Crichton has not put a final figure on it.

Mr Crichton published a report on March 6 which said he believed the Meridan Plains company became insolvent about November 30, 2017.

It went into liquidation a little more than a year later when Mr Crichton was appointed by court order on December 7, last year.

The Sunshine Coast Pet Resort has been sold to new owners since going into liquidation in 2018.

Mr Crichton sold the business to new owner, Pet Care Centre, within a fortnight of being appointed.

The new owners initially committed to honouring the pre-paid bookings which had been organised during the Browns' tenure but had to cancel that after being inundated with customers who said they had already paid.

Mr Crichton said customers who had their bookings cancelled had so far lodged about $5000 in claims for compensation.

"I am currently in the process of investigating their claims in comparison to records I possess and am planning to reach out to these customers regarding a refund distribution," Mr Crichton said.

He said he had issued a letter of demand to the Browns over a $169,000 loan account they had with the business.

Outstanding superannuation payments are also being investigated.

The Sunshine Coast Pet Resort has been sold to new owners since going into liquidation in 2018.

Mr Crichton said the Browns had advised him there were 27 employees owed $64,000 in superannuation but company records showed the figure owed to be $117,000.

The Australian Taxation Office leads a list of unsecured creditors with a bill of $354,694, with debts of $66,448 to small business lender Prospa Advance and $111,958 to former business partner Green for Growth Pty Ltd also claimed.

Landlords at the Pierce Ave site have claimed $60,008 and a superannuation fund has claimed $19,000.

In his report, Mr Crichton said due to numerous loans, the company held a persistent negative net asset position for more than 12 months before his appointment.

Mr Crichton also said the company was not profitable during the 2017 financial year and a debt to the Australian Taxation Office "increased significantly" from September 2017.

"Further investigation is required to confirm the specific date of insolvency and determine the feasibility of an insolvent trading claim against the directors," he said.

Mr Crichton said Mr and Ms Brown had listed disputes with their landlord, failure of a previous business partnership, poor cashflow and illness of Mr Brown as reasons for the company's financial difficulties.

He said he expected to be able to pay a "significant dividend" to priority creditors, which included the staff superannuation debts.

Moving forward, he said his next steps would include completing his investigations into the company's affairs as well as any reporting required for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

"I expect to have completed this liquidation within six to 12 months."