George Calombaris’s twisted empire owes creditors $22.3m

Celebrity chef George Calom­baris’s food empire collapsed owing its secured creditors $22.3m, new documents reveal.

George Calombaris’s Made Establishment, which comprised 12 restaurants and food outlets, went bust on February 11, with just $389 left in the bank. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Celebrity chef George Calom­baris’s food empire collapsed owing its secured creditors $22.3m and having racked up a merry-go-round of intercompany loans totallin­g $17.8m, new documents reveal.

Calombaris’s Made Establishment, which comprised 12 restaurants and food outlets, went bust on February 11, with just $389 left in the bank, according to reports filed to the failed hospitality group’s administrator KordaMentha.

The statement of Made’s activi­ties and property reveals that the Matt Comyn-led Common­wealth Bank is owed $8.5m, comprising $7.1m via a financ­e facility and $1.46m via bank guarantees.

CBA is expected to get only about $1m of its money back.

Calombaris’s partner in the failed enterprise, Swisse vitamins millionaire Radek Sali, claims to be owed $13.7m from the corporate collapse.

His claim as a secured creditor was lodged by Mr Sali in the dying days of Made’s operations.

He has since said that he does not expect to get any of his money back.

Since the doors of Made’s outlets were bolted shut by administrators, five have been sold to new owners. There is now little hope that the remaining seven will find buyers.

The fresh documents, lodged with KordaMentha by Made direct­or Mr Sali but yet to be verified by accountants, reveal the exten­t to which Calombaris and Mr Sali had resorted to a complex web of intercompany loans to keep their operations afloat.

Hellenic Republic Kew was closed owing $2.6m, while the group’s pub in Williamstown owed $2.6m. All up, the tangle of internal loans totalled $17.8m.

The group’s Yo-Chi frozen ­yoghurt chain was carved out of the administration process and continues­ to trade, but documents show that the operation is owed almost $142,000 by its failed parent­.

Notably, former Made director and shareholder Adam Gregory also resigned as a director of Yo-Chi last week.

Made fell over also owing hundreds­ of trade creditors money, who are also not expected to receive much from the realisation of the company’s few assets.

Aside from the $389 bank balanc­e, Made’s few other assets comprise mainly bar stock still on shelves at various restaurants.

It owes the Australian Taxation Office at least $225,000 — the company appears to have been in arrears for some time and was already on a negotiated payment plan with the ATO, and may owe staff some entitlements, such as leave payments. The first meeting of creditors was told these could amount to more than $400,000.

Once Made is placed into liquid­ation, staff will be able to acces­s the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme to recoup ­unpaid entitlements.

In the wake of the collapse, Mr Sali expressed his sadness over the failure.

“The past few weeks have been some of the saddest and most challenging we have experienced in our time doing business. This has been deeply felt,” former Swisse boss Radek Sali said.

Creditors will next meet on March 17.