Gold Coast businessman opens new bar, called out as he leaves a trail of debts and failed businesses behind

One of the co-owners behind a new Gold Coast bar is the former director of two tech companies that collapsed last year owing more than $7 million between them to creditors.

Brett McCallum at the new hospitality venue opened earlier this year.

One of the co-owners behind a trendy new Gold Coast bar is the former director of two tech companies that collapsed last year owing multiple millions of dollars to creditors.

Earlier this year, Brett McCallum, 50, opened up The Yard in Mermaid Beach, alongside co-owner John Green.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that Brett McCallum is also the sole director of IT service platform Virtech.com.au Pty Ltd which went into liquidation in January this year.

Its collapse saw 13 people lose their jobs, with a total of $4.144 million racked up in company liabilities.

And before that, in November last year, Mr McCallum’s tech recruiting business Require.net.au Pty Ltd, which had contracts with government agencies, went bust owing $2.9 million to creditors including the tax office.

Creditors voted on a deed of company arrangement which resulted in Mr McCallum regaining control of the company by returning around 15 cents for every dollar unsecured creditors were owed.

One creditor, a contractor who claims they are $20,000 out of pocket over the ordeal, is angry that their former boss is now spruiking his new business while they have missed out on thousands of dollars in money they claim is rightfully theirs.

“I just think it’s disgusting,” they said.

“Despite not repaying significant loans, he is still promoting himself as an entrepreneur, supposedly helping small businesses set up for success.”

Gold Coast business owner Mr McCallum has a colourful past when it comes to previous business ventures.

Mr McCallum is a self-confessed “disrupter” with a “deep entrepreneurial and punter spirit” and makes no secret of his past business failures, according to a personal blog.

His website says he has built both “extremely successful and unsuccessful ventures” and that he has even authored a book called ‘Embracing the Fail’ in line with this attitude.

Documents show that the recent collapses aren’t Mr McCallum’s only corporate failures; he was bankrupt from 2014 and 2017.

On Mr McCallum’s website, it also states: “Fully aware of how trendy it has become to be an ‘entrepreneur’ and given that the world appears to have created a ‘faketrepreneur’ ecosystem, Brett keeps laser-focused on his purpose in inspiring those who cannot see what they can be.”

Later on in his ‘about section’, it reads: “Brett’s favourite attribute is the fact that he has never found anyone who’s mind works like his.

Brett McCallum has blogged about “embracing the fail” but some of his creditors are not happy.

“There is thinking out of the box and then there is dismantling the box to make 3 boxes and then think outside of them.

“A wise woman once said, ‘To know Brett, you need to experience Brett.’”

He and his business partner opened up The Yard in April this year, four months after his tech businesses had failed.

The Yard is a 1970s-inspired drinking venue featuring a beer bus, frozen margaritas and pizzas and has taken over a prominent Gold Coast Highway site near a tram stop.

At the time of opening, Mr McCallum said it took eight weeks from signing the lease to debut the new-look venue.

Mr McCallum declined to comment to The Courier-Mail.

The Yard recently opened in Mermaid Beach and is proving quite popular with locals. Picture: Glenn Hampson

As well as The Yard, Mr McCallum operates a number of other businesses including graphic design and brand company, Media8, and trading card company, Platinum Standard Grading (PSG).

According to the reports the external administrators submitted to the corporate regulator, a number of his businesses received loans from Virtech.com.au and Require.net.au.

He did not respond to questions about whether the money had been paid back.

In a report to creditors, the appointed administrators, Mitchell Ball and David Hurst of insolvency firm Mackay Goodwin, said there were a number of loans outstanding to Require.net.au.

Some of these loans had either been given directly to Mr McCallum or companies linked to him.

Brett McCallum owed the company $49,500 personally, as of December last year when the report was lodged.

Media8 owed $654,000 while PSG owed $45,000 and Require Building Solutions owed $491.

“Creditors are advised that the Director is an officer of Require Building Solutions, PSG, Media8, and it is a related entity of the Company,” the administrators noted.

Require.net.au had a total of 30 creditors, including at least 20 staff owed money and seven trade creditors owed $75,000.

There was a tax debt of between $2.3 million and $2.5 million.

Creditors voted on carrying out a deed of company arrangement which agreed for Mr McCallum to pay $20,000 and then make monthly payments of $8,000 for 21 months and a final contribution of $2,000 in order to take back control of the company.

For the other business, Virtech.com.au, the same administrators were appointed.

Like before, Mr McCallum’s company Media8 owed Virtech money by way of a loan, coming in at a total of $288,000.

Creditors voted to place the company into liquidation in January.

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Originally published as Gold Coast businessman opens new bar, called out as he leaves a trail of debts and failed businesses behind