Sydney identity John Ibrahim sues Jon Adgemis backer Ben Madsen over failed pub plan
The nightclub entrepreneur is taking legal action against Archibald Capital boss Ben Madsen over the private lender’s purchase of the Oxford Tavern and what he claims is an unpaid $3.3m debt.
Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim is suing private financier Ben Madsen over what Mr Ibrahim claims is an unpaid debt from the sale of his jelly wrestling pub.
Mr Madsen is best known for his role as the boss of Archibald Capital which was a key lender to bankrupt hospitality entrepreneur Jon Adgemis. Documents lodged with the NSW Supreme Court show a company controlled by Mr Ibrahim has brought legal action against Mr Madsen and the entity behind the venue, adding to the litany of litigation piling up for the former ANZ banker.
The Thirst Fund Holding, a company controlled by Mr Ibrahim since 2019, filed against Mr Madsen and the company OXTAV on November 24.
Mr Madsen is already facing a wind-up action brought by former business partner HG Investments.
OXTAV was the holding company for Sydney pub the Oxford Tavern, which Mr Madsen bought from Mr Ibrahim as part of a Archibald Capital’s role in Mr Adgemis’ ailing pubs empire.
Mr Madsen became a trusted lender among the many private funders bankrolling Mr Adgemis who at his peak controlled 22 pubs and hotels and racked up $1.8bn in debt.
Mr Madsen helped purchase the Oxford Tavern last year, alongside five other venues, intending to raise $28m from investors. Mr Ibrahim bought the venue in 2015 for $3.36m, and offered to hand over money to Mr Adgemis and Mr Madsen to help them finance their acquisition.
Archibald Capital valued the Oxford Tavern at $13m under a plan presented to potential investors relying on its “as complete” valuation.
Mr Ibrahim’s vendor financing allowed Mr Madsen to close the deal, and advance Mr Adgemis’ plan to revitalise the formerly seedy venue into a drink and dine site in inner Sydney. Celebrity chef George Calombaris was recruited to oversee the kitchen.
But OXTAV was placed into administration in August, and Mr Ibrahim claimed almost $3.3m in debts against the venue as part of that process.
Documents show Mr Madsen only disclosed $803,000 owed to Mr Ibrahim’s company.
Mr Madsen, who did not respond to requests for comment, has faced growing pressure from Mr Ibrahim’s camp after failing to secure refinancing for the venue.
The Oxford Tavern is yet to reopen after shutting in March 2023 and is controlled by administrator HM Advisory.
The pub had previously been operated by James Thorpe’s Odd Culture Group, which took on the running of the venue in 2019.
Mr Madsen is racking up litigation fees and may have dusted as much as $136m on Mr Adgemis’ venues which collapsed in September after other lenders moved to seize the last viable assets.
Mr Adgemis unsuccessfully averted bankruptcy offering his creditors 0.15c in the dollar. Mr Madsen intended to backstop a plan to refinance several of the venues under renovation.
HG Investments, a wealth operation tied to Sydney’s Vietnamese community, is also pursuing Mr Madsen over $10m raised by Orange Gaming, a company that both he and Mr Adgemis were directors of.
Mr Madsen’s palatial Sydney home, owned in his wife Tania’s name, was pledged against this loan.
However, Mr Madsen stands to realise a windfall from his investment in private data centre operator Firmus run by Oliver Curtis, who was jailed in 2016 for insider trading. Mr Curtis has stitched together the booming enterprise with backing from Nvidia and local investors including Ellerston Capital.
Mr and Mrs Madsen travelled to Greece for Mr Curtis’ 40th birthday and celebrated with his wife, Roxy Jacenko.
Firmus is expected to list next year, having attracted a $6bn valuation.
But Mr Madsen also faces defending his involvement in organising funding for the Wilkie Creek coal mine, after having tipped in almost $150m alongside Simon Raferty’s Remagen.
Archibald Capital and Remagen came to the rescue of the mine in 2021, but Wilkie Creek collapsed in December of that year labouring under $304m in debts.
Waste management player James Hallinan and his family’s Hi-Quality Finance group is suing Mr Madsen and Raferty over alleged “misleading and deceptive conduct”.
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Originally published as Sydney identity John Ibrahim sues Jon Adgemis backer Ben Madsen over failed pub plan
