Lark Distilling CEO Geoff Bainbridge quits over shock video

Geoff Bainbridge quit Lark Distilling after being exposed smoking meth in an explicit video he claims was being used to extort money from him.

A multi-millionaire chief executive has abruptly quit after being exposed smoking meth in an explicit video he claims was being used to extort money from him.

The exit of Lark Distilling boss Geoff Bainbridge, the co-founder of major burger chain Grill’d, slashed more than $70m from the ASX-listed company’s value.

Mr Bainbridge, Lark’s fifth-biggest shareholder with a stake valued at more than $13m, had filmed himself smoking a meth pipe in his underwear while making sexually explicit comments.

Through his lawyers, Mr Bainbridge had told The Australian on Tuesday evening that the recordings had been manipulated.

But in a second account on Wednesday – vastly at odds with the footage – Mr Bainbridge confirmed he was in the video but said he had been targeted for years by a foreign criminal group demanding he pay thousands of dollars.

Mr Bainbridge’s resignation came despite The Australian agreeing not to publish the material until he was able to respond, but after the Lark board began a formal investigation on Tuesday.

Mr Bainbridge, through his lawyers, requested the footage not be shared with the board.

In the video, Mr Bainbridge lights the meth pipe and says: “Let’s get f..king high together baby. I’d smoke meth and just blow it all over your c..t, babe.” He then inhales and blows into the phone, before taking another two inhalations. He ends the video by saying: “I’m so high, I’m so f..king horny.”

Mr Bainbridge, despite having filmed the footage himself and appearing alone in a bedroom while addressing an absent sexual partner, claims he was “set up as part of a shakedown”.

The Australian had requested an interview with Mr Bainbridge, sent him detailed questions, and asked for details about the alleged extortion. However, he quit Lark and instead gave an interview to Nine Entertainment.

He told Nine that he did not use meth, and alleges he met a woman at a local bar, later smoking marijuana, and has since then been pursued for thousands of dollars by unknown overseas criminals.

Mr Bainbridge appears to have filmed himself smoking methamphetamine while engaging in a sex act.

“Although I consider myself a victim of a crime, I accept that I am also responsible for the circumstances I find myself in,” he said.

“Ultimately, I put myself in a situation I shouldn’t have been in. I’m a victim of extortion but that wouldn’t have occurred without my poor judgment. I am deeply remorseful for my own actions.″

Lark, which runs several whiskey distilleries in Tasmania, is backed by some of the most prominent figures in Australia’s food and alcohol industry. Its chairman, David Dearie, was chief executive of Treasury Wine Estate’s when the company split from Foster’s Group and listed on the ASX in 2011. Another director, Laura McBain, is the former chief executive of Bellamy’s Australia, turning the organic foods producer into an infant formula powerhouse.

Ms McBain will be acting chief executive until Lark is able to permanently replace Mr Bainbridge.

“Today’s announcement has been a shock, but we have a strong, committed, capable team,” Ms McBain told an investor call. Lark counts among its major shareholders Seppeltsfield, the country’s largest private owner of vineyards. Its owner, Warren Randall, sits on the Lark board.

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Another is the wealthy Tasmanian businessman Bruce Neill, who has an 8 per cent stake.

Rachel Waterhouse, chief executive of the Australian Shareholders Association, said investors had to be confident that business leaders were making good decisions. “Having a sound mind is really important in making good business decisions and acting ethically,” she said, noting she was speaking generally and not about the company.

“A large organisation should have a drug and alcohol policy … If I was on their board and evidence came to light as described, I would look at that policy and see if that CEO has potentially breached it.”

Methamphetamine, or ice, is a highly addictive stimulant that can be smoked through a pipe. Deaths caused by the use of ice are mostly a result of heart or respiratory failure, brain haemorrhage, seizures, stroke or kidney failure.

Mr Bainbridge, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed he was in the footage and claimed he had been “set up as part of a shakedown”.

“People who regularly use ice can quickly become dependent on the drug,” a NSW Health fact-sheet reads. “High doses of ice and frequent use may also cause ‘ice psychosis’. This condition is characterised by paranoid delusions, hallucinations and bizarre, aggressive or violent behaviour.”

Before working at Lark, Mr Bainbridge co-founded and ran the Grill’d burger chain with managing director Simon Crowe from 2004. Mr Crowe and Mr Bainbridge had both held senior positions at Foster’s Group, now known as Carlton & United Breweries, before establishing Grill’d.

The partnership fell apart in spectacular fashion in 2016 when the pair faced off in Federal Court over the ownership of the $300m fast food business. Mr Crowe told the court he would “struggle” to be in the same room as Mr Bainbridge who admitted to calling his one-time business partner a “c..t”.

Mr Bainbridge has also been involved with other successful start-up ventures including Bounce Trampolines, Happy Socks and Studio Ongarato.

Mr Bainbridge was appointed managing director of Lark in October 2019. At the time, the company changed its name from Australian Whisky Holdings, which was founded in 1839.

Mr Bainbridge’s total remuneration package, according to the company’s latest annual report, was $582,170 – up from $492,680 the previous year.

His arrival at Lark coincided with a significant increase in the company’s share price. In the past 12 months, the company’s shares have risen nearly 200 per cent, from $1.53 to $4.52, giving Lark a market value of more than $340m.

Despite supply chain challenges amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the company saw a 78 per cent surge in sales in the six months to December 31.

In a note to clients in early February, Barrenjoey Capital Markets equity analyst Nick McGarrigle credited Mr Bainbridge for turning the business around.

“Geoff Bainbridge, has turned the business around and set it on a solid path to leverage the Lark brand, build inventory and diversify channels,” he wrote. “The transition to a new CEO/COO is focused on adding an executive with deep export and retail knowledge to steward the next phase. We expect Mr Bainbridge to remain a director of Lark.”

Lark Distilling founder Bill Lark and former boss Geoff Bainbridge; Lark, which runs several whiskey distilleries in Tasmania, is backed by some of the most prominent figures in Australia’s food and alcohol industry