La Beach Fish & Chips: How Cullen Bay Marina favourite was infected by collapse of empire
Ongoing trading losses coupled with the collapse of its parent company spelt doom for a popular Darwin fish and chip restaurant, a new report says. Now, its owner has broken his silence.
Business
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Ongoing trading losses coupled with the collapse of its parent company, which owned the Darwin Fish Market, spelt doom for a popular Darwin fish and chip restaurant, a new report says.
La Beach Fish & Chips, located at Cullen Bay Marina, closed in late 2023, with the company that operated the business, Fisher & Oakley Pty Ltd, being placed into voluntary administration on December 11.
The business was owned by directors Peter Gregory Singleton, 47, and Frank Allan Norton, 48.
Both Mr Singleton and Mr Norton saw their seafood empire crumble in the second half of 2023, with three other companies, Headland Food Group Pty Ltd, Wild Ocean Australia Pty Ltd (which operated the Darwin Fish Market) and North Australian Fishing Co. Pty Ltd being placed into administration owing a combined $7,606,073.
Wild Ocean and Northern Australian Fishing Co. were liquidated, while Darwin Fish Market was sold to a new operator.
According to a report by Fisher & Oakley administrator Paul Nogueira, filed with corporate regulator ASIC on Monday, it was the collapse of holding company Wild Ocean, coupled with taxation debts and ongoing trading losses, that spelt doom for La Beach.
The “downturn in the economy and common issues that had surrounded the hospitality industry as a result of Covid, including rising costs of stock and labour,” also played a role, Mr Nogueira found.
According to the report, Fisher & Oakley owes approximately $35,586 in unpaid employee entitlements and between $256,875–$348,405 to unsecured creditors.
The lion’s share, $255,775, is owed to the Australian Taxation Office by way of unpaid tax liabilities.
The company has cash at bank of $50,622, all of which will be taken up by administration fees and repaying staff, Mr Nogueira said.
The majority of the cash at bank was sourced from a $40,000 sale of the La Beach business, plant and equipment in November.
The NT News understands the business will be relaunched as Fin & Tonic this year under new ownership.
Mr Nogueira alleged that Fisher & Oakley may have traded while insolvent from at least June 30, 2020, although with the proviso that his opinion was “subject to change” due to Mr Nogueira’s inability to access the company’s internal bookkeeping accounts from June 30, 2021 onwards.
A second meeting of creditors will be convened on January 24, wherein creditors will decide to either liquidate Fisher & Oakley or return control of the company to the directors.
Director says he left Darwin for good after well-publicised collapse
Mr Singleton says he and his co-director, Mr Norton, have both left Darwin for good in the wake of the collapse of their companies and associated media coverage.
The pair have moved back to their native Brisbane, Mr Singleton said.
He claimed that his companies fell victim to corporate bastardry.
“We were done over by the quota system. It sent everything into a tailspin,” Mr Singleton said.
A quota is a share of the fish catch allowed in a fishery to an individual fisher.
Like many others starting in the industry, Messrs Singleton and Norton were required to lease their quota of and a vessel.
“You’ve got to lease the quota to build equity, then buy your own quota and own the boat,” Mr Singleton said.
“We went into it with that premise.”
Mr Singleton said things began to go south following a contractual dispute with the owner of their boat, leading them to instead invest in their own fleet.
“We were quite heavily indebted but it was manageable,” Mr Singleton said.
Mr Singleton claimed that industry heavy-hitters then conspired to pull the quota out from underneath his feet.
“Everything got plastered on us,” he said.
Mr Singleton said “mum and dad” fishing operations across Australia’s wild-caught fisheries were under siege from institutional money flooding into the industry and gobbling up the quota.
“Institutional money coming in demanding year-on-year growth just decimates the fishing businesses under them,” he said.
“They spend so much money buying up the quota then upping the price, upping the price until they hollow them out and they go bust.”
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