Sydney pub empire Public Hospitality Co’s assets ‘missing’ amid ATO debt probe
Sydney pub baron Jon Adgemis’s accountants last year stated a key company had $1.29bn in assets. Now, it has nothing and liquidators can’t find a single trace the assets existed.
A key company of would-be Sydney pub baron Jon Adgemis collapsed into liquidation owing $123m to the tax office, despite previously boasting of assets exceeding $1.29bn.
A liquidator’s report into Public Hospitality Operating Co reveals more of the state of disarray of Mr Adgemis’s business empire, which is under siege as he fights to secure creditor approval for a financial rescue.
A report lodged by Balance Insolvency director Tim Cook shows the operating company owes a huge debt to the Australian Taxation Office. But Mr Cook’s report says the purpose of the debt, or even the nature of its assets previously detailed in tax returns, is missing.
Mr Adgemis’s pub and hotel empire at its peak boasted 22 venues and a string of other property assets across Sydney and Melbourne. This was funded by private credit lenders, with a bankruptcy report into Mr Adgemis finding he owes $1.8bn in debts and personal guarantees.
Mr Adgemis’s Public Hospitality Group had a strategy of buying unloved off-Broadway venues and boosting their profiles.
Mr Cook notes his preliminary assessment of Public Hospitality Operating Co reveals “there is some evidence to suggest that the company traded whilst insolvent”.
“I am continuing to gather additional information and documentation to make a more informed conclusion concerning the matter,” he said. Mr Adgemis denies his company operated insolvently.
Mr Cook also notes that while previous tax returns lodged by Public Hospitality Operating Co show the company had assets of $1.29bn on June 30, 2024, no records can be found.
He stated that Murchisons Chartered Accountants failed to respond to a request for records about the relevant tax return.
And he claims Mr Adgemis, who is living in a nearly $60,000-a-month luxury penthouse in Sydney’s Bondi, has also failed to respond to requests for records.
“I have conducted a real property search against the company’s name in NSW, the state the company traded and I did not identify any property registered under the name of the company,” he said.
“Due to no explanations and records received from the director, I have not been able to fully examine the circumstances leading to the failure of the company.”
Mr Cook speculated: “it would be reasonable to believe the company failed likely due to a combination of, but not limited to … poor financial control including lack of records, the failure of entities previously controlled by the director (and) noncompliance with statutory obligations”.
Mr Adgemis’s pubs empire has been under siege as he struggled with repayments on ballooning debts over the business, coupled with increasing hostility from lenders.
The Asian arm of American lender Muzinich seized control of five pubs in September last year.
The Kurrajong Hotel in inner-city Sydney sold last week for $20m. Mr Adgemis bought the venue in 2019, extensively renovating the site, before it was seized by lenders.
Millinium Capital Managers picked up the venue, after purchasing the Town Hall hotel in Balmain and the Three Weeds in Paddington, venues Mr Adgemis previously owned.
Liquidators are circling other arms of Mr Adgemis’s empire, with BRI Ferrier running the ruler amid allegations of an alleged GST fraud scheme in excess of $300m under ATO investigation. Mr Adgemis denies this allegation, too.
BRI Ferrier is seeking to take control of the liquidations under Mr Cook, who was appointed after an approach by Mr Adgemis’s consigliere, Olvera Advisory. Olvera Advisory is run by former Climate 200 whisperer Damien Hodgkinson.
Mr Cook is appointed to seven companies formerly within Mr Adgemis’s empire.
Mr Adgemis is trying to secure creditor sign-off for a personal insolvency agreement that would see him avoid bankruptcy.
The ATO has claimed debts of $162m in this process, which could swing a vote requiring 75 per cent of creditors to approve it.
Mr Cook notes bankruptcy trustee WLP Restructuring has refused to accept his $123m claim in the bankruptcy process.
The bankruptcy regulator, the Australian Financial Security Authority, has criticised WLP trustees Scott Pascoe and Ben Ho over their handling of the matter, stating they may have failed to adequately investigate Mr Adgemis’s assets. WLP rejects this accusation.
Mr Adgemis and Mr Cook were contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Sydney pub empire Public Hospitality Co’s assets ‘missing’ amid ATO debt probe
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