Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher does deal to clear $1m debt for $100k and to keep trading

A celebrity beautician, known as the ‘eyebrow queen’, has reached a deal to clear almost $1m in debt owed to creditors, for much less than owed, and to keep trading. Here’s how it works.

Celebrity beautician Kristin Fisher has done an eyebrow-raising deal to clear nearly $1 million in debts for just $100,000, avoid liquidation and keep on trading.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) was agreed in the week between Christmas and New Year that will see unsecured creditors of her Double Bay-based salon receive between six and nine cents in each dollar owed.

The DOCA won the support of the largest creditor, the Australian Taxation Office, despite the terms being less favourable to the ATO than an earlier offer.

In July last year, after calling in restructuring expert Mervyn Kitay of Worrells, Ms Fisher offered to pay $200,000 over two years to clear her debts.

The ATO turned down that deal.

Kristin Fisher pictured at home in Double Bay. Picture: Toby Zerna

In August, another expert Jeremy Nipps of Cor Cordis met with Ms Fisher, who is sole director of the business, and her adviser, Alan Bond’s grandson Banjo Bond.

Ms Fisher’s sister Kate is married to Mr Bond. It is not suggested that he engaged in any wrongdoing.

Mr Nipps was appointed administrator of Kristin Fisher Eyebrows Pty Ltd in late November.

Five days before Christmas he filed a 101-page report with the corporate regulator that recommended creditors accept a DOCA over liquidation. Winding up the business would see creditors get nothing, he said. A DOCA offered the prospect of receiving between 6.22 and 8.82 per cent of the $932,000 owed. About $915,000 of that debt was to the ATO.

The Telegraph sought comment from the ATO on why it accepted the new offer.

Kristin Fisher posted on Instagram in January 2024.

Kristin Fisher posed for a post on Instagram sometime after the deal was made, in January.

A spokeswoman said “the ATO cannot comment on the tax affairs of any individual or entity due to our obligations of confidentiality and privacy under the law.”

According to the creditors report, Ms Fisher will still have to deal with more than $450,000 of debts to family members and $100,000 borrowed from an unknown “related party”.

Mr Nipps’ analysis finds that Kristin Fisher Eyebrows is a profitable business. From the end of 2020 to October 2023, it was cumulatively in the black by well over $300,000.

In his report to creditors he said the “primary causes of failure” were “an inability to manage significant debts owed to the ATO which accrued since at least early 2020 and considerable director drawings over that same period used to meet personal living expenses, for which limited repayments have been made.”

Eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher pictured at her beauty shop in Double Bay. Picture: Toby Zerna

He said her explanation to him of the reasons for the company’s difficulties were “the effects of COVID-19 and associated business lockdowns in NSW impacting the Company’s ability to trade and the ability of staff to work, poor financial advice received by a previous advisor, and the breakdown of the director’s marriage causing significant personal distress during 2020.”

The creditors report refers to Ms Fisher by her married name – Barnes. Her ex-husband is personal trainer Chris Barnes. They had been together for a decade and married for seven years.

Mr Nipps found Ms Fisher’s “drawings” from company funds amounted to $1.4m and were “potentially unreasonable director related transactions”.

However, after seeing a statement of her personal assets and liabilities, he suggested legal action would be futile.

“We have reviewed the statement and made other inquiries including from company records and publicly available information including real property searches,” he said.

“Based on our preliminary investigations, if a successful claim was brought against the director, there may not be the ability to pay the amount of the estimated claim for insolvent trading and/or director loans as the director appears to have limited financial capacity to meet any such claim in full.”

Mr Nipps said in his report that Ms Fisher may have breached her multiple duties under the Corporations Act. He claimed she may have failed to “act with care and diligence” in “managing the financial and strategic affairs of the company” or “act in good faith … by withdrawing funds from the company to the extent where it impacted the Company’s solvency.”