David Collard, Kevin Roache: Geelong’s biggest 2023 business collapses

A local business owner has spoken out after his successful campaign to wind up a company by Geelong entrepreneur David Collard.

David Collard and Greg Lake

A local business owner has spoken out after his successful campaign to wind up a company by Geelong entrepreneur David Collard.

Greg Lake, who alleged he was owed more than $100,000 in unpaid consultancy services by Mr Collard’s company SaniteX Global, said the recent move by Judicial registrar Kim Woronczak to wind up the company was a win.

“I’m thankful for the outcome and I hope it brings some sense of closure for the people who were affected by the director’s behaviour,” he said.

“I look forward to the process of the liquidator recovering as many assets so they can repay people what they’re owed, if possible.”

Based in New York City, Mr Collard owns a raft of companies under the banner of investment firm Scale Facilitation, including Recharge Industries and SaniteX Global.

Solicitor Leo Freckleton told the Supreme Court a number of other people had come forward claiming they were also owed money.

“There have been voluminous attempts to contact my client by other supporting creditors,” he said recently.

“To the extent that one debt is paid out, it is very likely there will be someone else standing in to prosecute this application in place of my client.”

Representatives for another ex-employee alleged she was owed $55,000 in unpaid entitlements.

Lawyers for the company had previously denied the company was insolvent.

Mr Collard had previously announced a takeover of UK-battery maker BritishVolt, and plans for a production facility supporting thousands of jobs at Avalon’s industrial park north of Geelong.

Founder of Australian company, Scale Facilitation, David Collard in the One World Trade Center office. Pic Abby Holden

But things took a turn in June when Recharge Industries staff alleged they had not been paid in “weeks”, with the company blaming an international banking hiccup.

The company was later raided by Australian Federal Police as part of a joint taskforce investigating alleged tax fraud.

In a statement given to the Geelong Advertiser in June, the company denied all wrongdoing and committed to cooperating with authorities.

“The company denies any wrongdoing and will continue working with legal and other advisers to defend any matters arising from these discussions,” a spokeswoman said.

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Mr Collard and James Fatone have been directors of SaniteX Global since 2020.

Official documents confirmed Scott Andersen from liquidation firm Worrells had been appointed to wind up the company.

Mr Andersen will now take control of the company’s affairs, collect, assess and sell the company’s assets, as well as investigate and report the reasons for the business’ failure to creditors.

More than 7900 businesses across Australia entered external administration in the last financial year.

Liquidations in the Geelong area

The Resident Barber Belmont (TRB Belmont)

A once-popular Geelong barbershop left employees thousands out of pocket when it shut up shop earlier this year.

TRB Belmont and director Josiah Munday owed more than $142,000 to unsecured creditors and $32,000 to ex-employees, according to a liquidator’s report.

“The company experienced a decrease in revenue due to the restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in trading losses and was therefore unable to pay its debts as they fell due,” liquidator Scott Andersen’s report alleged.

TRB Belmont's Josiah Munday. Source: Facebook

It was also alleged Mr Munday himself owed $211,000 to the company but didn’t have the cash to repay it.

“I issued a demand to the director for repayment of his loan account,” Mr Andersen said.

“In response, he advised that he does not have the financial capacity to repay his personal loan account. He noted that he is indebted to other creditors in respect to personal guarantees and is unlikely to be able to repay the same.”

Golden Dragon Yum Cha

The owner of a failed Geelong restaurant may be forced to repay more than $500,000 after a liquidator’s report revealed his debts.

Golden Dragon Yum Cha closed for good in June 2023, citing ongoing impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic.

But liquidator Matthew Dieter’s report claimed director Zeng Ping Mu owed $569,000 in outstanding loans.

“I have issued demand letters for the repayment of these loans with no such success and as such, am currently instructing my solicitor to commence legal action,” he wrote.

Mr Dieter said the loans could be considered “unreasonable director transactions” and “detrimental” to the now defunct company.

But Mr Mu told the Geelong Advertiser the liquidator’s loan claims were a “joke and a mistake”, and that money was often taken out to pay suppliers who required cash.

“All the funds were transferred between shops for purchasing and expenses,” he said

“We don’t owe a lot of debt, only a small amount from some suppliers and there (sic) have been notified.”

Uforic Food Cafe

Staff were allegedly left more than $50,000 out of pocket when a popular Mount Duneed cafe abruptly shut last year.

A liquidator’s report claimed the Uforic Food Cafe owed $52, 795 to staff and $167,424 to unsecured creditors at the time of its closure.

Uforic Food Cafe owner Lisa Cummins. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Liquidator Jarvis Archer said directors had blamed poor economic conditions and staff shortages on the cafe’s economic woes.

“The losses accrued are significantly less than they would have otherwise been due to the receipt of JobKeeper and other government stimulus payments,” he said

“The company accrued statutory liabilities due to the ATO, the landlord, superannuation and trade creditors which were too onerous for the company to meet.”

Dreamtime Pools

Pools and Spas Pty Ltd went into voluntary administration on June 9 this year.

A liquidator’s report from Malcolm Howell alleged more than 130 creditors had been identified, with the potential for more as investigations continued.

By August, more than $2m worth of claims of unpaid debt had been made against the company.

Dreamtime Pools owner Doug Constable.

Dozens of customers alleged they had paid for unfinished pools, with little to no contact from the company in the months following.

“We were told that the pool shell would be delivered within two days of excavation,” one customer told the Geelong Advertiser.

“Now for two months we’ve got a hole in the ground that’s collapsing … I have two children who cannot go outside and we cannot landscape our yard, because everything revolves around this pool hole.

Pools and Spas director Doug Constable has previously denied any wrongdoing and rejected claims he had ripped off customers.

Encompass

Liquidators are fighting to avoid a court battle over the return of $500,000 Encompass paid to the Australian Taxation Office.

The community services organisation entered voluntary administration in January, one year after a probe into allegations it underpaid workers.

Liquidation firm Worrells took charge of the company shortly after, and have been wrapping it up for almost a year

A report alleged Encompass’ finances started unravelling in November 2021, and was potentially insolvent from the middle of last year.

Liquidators are currently negotiating the return of more than $500,000 paid to the Australian Taxation Office in the six-month lead up to January

Domino’s Corio

A popular pizza franchise owed more than $800,000 to creditors before it closed down, a report has revealed.

AK Pizza Corio Pty Ltd had been operating as a sub-franchise of pizza chain Domino’s since 2017.

But a report by liquidator Philip Newman released last month alleged the pizza giant was owed more than $300,000 at the time of its closure.

The company also owed the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation $465,116 and Superior Food Group Pty Ltd $40,883.

“During a discussion with my staff, the director advised that the failure of the company was attributable to poor economic conditions, including rising costs for materials, stock and labour, which led to difficulties in generating a profit,” Mr Newman said.

Black Sand Windows

A Torquay construction company left almost $900,000 of debt following its collapse.

Black Sand Windows Pty Ltd specialised in the fitting and manufacturing of aluminium windows and doors before its closure.

Liquidator Brent Leigh Morgan alleged the company owed ex-employees thousands in unpaid wages, superannuation and other entitlements.

“To date no advances have yet been made to employees,” Mr Morgan wrote.

The company was run by sole trader Clark McGrath before being moved to Torquay in 2021.

“The director alleges that at this time, the company purchased part of the existing business from the former tenant by taking on various employees, stock for work in progress and plant and equipment, some of which were subject to finance,” the report read.

“It is noted that the former tenant has denied this and stated that there was only a sale of assets.”

TransOtway Travel

An ex-Geelong lawyer stole more than $400,000 from dead clients and their estates in an attempt to prop up his failing travel company, a court has heard.

Trans Otway Travel collapsed in late 2022, owing employees more than $80,000 in unpaid wages.

But at a court hearing in June, director Kevin Edward Roache admitted to stealing money and falsifying documents to cover his tracks.

In part, the money was used to prop up the struggling travel company.

“Although TransOtway was functioning, it was functioning because he injected funds into it over this long period,” Defence barrister Julian McMahon said at Roache’s plea hearing.

“He could just never confront the fact it was failing slowly and gradually.”

Hopp Inn

A once-popular Mount Duneed pub was forced to shut up shop due to a massive rent hike, its former owners alleged.

Hopp Inn stunned locals when it announced its abrupt closure in January 2023, owing to financial stress.

A liquidator’s report later revealed debts of l$288,042.

According to the report, the site’s landlords would “not renew the lease other than on a month-to-month basis and “increased the rent by 84 per cent”.

Estimates from liquidator Scott Andersen predicted the former owners were owed $128,000, and the Australian Taxation Office was out of pocket more than $59,000.

Originally published as David Collard, Kevin Roache: Geelong’s biggest 2023 business collapses