Receivers to probe PINT Club taxpayer soundproofing grant

Local small businesses appear to have been spared the worst of the fallout from PINT Club’s administration but the probe into what happened is far from over. Read what comes next.

Local small businesses appear to have escaped the fallout from financial woes affecting Marrara’s troubled PINT Club after it entered voluntary administration earlier this month.

Advisory firm Rogers Reidy is now investigating the club’s financial records, with receiver Stuart Reid confirming decisions around the handling of its affairs would be referred to regulator Licensing NT.

Mr Reid said the focus moving forward would be on securing cashflow and the club’s ongoing viability, with a list of creditors expected to be provided next month.

“The receivers can investigate the cause of the failure and if we find breaches of duty by a former officer we can report that to the regulator but it’s not our decision as to what further action is taken,” he said.

PINT Club on Monday morning, hours after members met to learn about its future.

Meanwhile, NT Chamber of Commerce chief executive Greg Ireland said he was not aware of any local businesses exposed by PINT’s receivership.

“I’m not aware of any small businesses that are directly impacted, it’s the larger corporate suppliers that are exposed,” he said.

“There’s been more and more pressure on the costs of being involved in sport at a family level because of the rising cost of living.

“Sport tends to be one of those things cut from people’s budget ahead of other essentials so going down to a club to support it becomes more difficult.”

He said Territory businesses could make a major contribution to community clubs like PINT while also boosting their own profile through sponsorship of a team or junior club.

PINT junior cricketers and businesses both benefit from sponsorship.

“Sponsorship at this level is an opportunity to contribute at a social level but also from a corporate governance perspective.”

He said his business, Security and Technology Services, sponsored the PINT junior cricket team and this delivered benefits to both stakeholders.

“It was an opportunity for us to get exposure from our community involvement,” he said.

A meeting of PINT members at the venue on Sunday afternoon was told the Australian Taxation Office, the NT government and bulk suppliers including CUB and Australian Liquor Marketers were the community club’s main creditors.

NT Chamber of Commerce chief executive Greg Ireland said there were mutual advantages to sponsoring community clubs.

Debts in excess of $900,000 have been identified so far, with a creditors meeting to be held virtually from the Woolner office of receivers Rogers Reidy at 10.30am Wednesday.

The NT Government is exposed to more than $200,000 in debts thorough provision of a grant for soundproofing at the venue which it said had not been properly acquitted.

Mr Reid said the grant would be considered as part of his investigation, which is scheduled to take six weeks and be concluded by the end of August.

The PINT Club committee called in receivers on July 13 after identifying the extent of the 55-year-old venue’s financial losses.

About 300 Pint Club members packed the embattled club’s Marrara venue to hear from the club committee and receivers in a meeting that was closed to the media.

One of those present described the mood as questioning but not angry, with acknowledgment the 55-year-old community club’s next priority must be to avoid liquidation.