ATO forces collapse of popular Oporto restaurant
The tax office has flexed its muscles, forcing a popular Oporto in Sydney to either pay half a million in back taxes or shut its doors.
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The tax office has flexed its muscles, forcing a popular Oporto to either pay half a million in back taxes or shut down.
Two companies that operated Oporto franchises in Sydney – Jevnt Pty Ltd and Pymz Pty Ltd – which operated Oporto Newtown and Darling Harbour respectively, collapsed into liquidation on Friday after the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issued their director, Ming Zhong, a notice demanding the payment of back taxes it was owed.
Liquidator Henry McKenna, of Vincents, told news.com.au that the businesses owed a combined amount of around $400,000 – $500,000 to the ATO.
He added Mr Zhong had earlier been issued with a director penalty notice by the ATO, which gave the companies 21 days to either pay the debt or surrender into liquidation.
Failure to take one of those steps would have made Mr Zhong personally liable for the tax debt.
As a result of the liquidations, Oporto Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west, didn’t open on Friday and hasn’t traded since.
Mr McKenna said that the Darling Harbour location, in central Sydney, had already been shut for more than 12 months as it was located in the Harbourside Shopping Centre, which closed for redevelopment in January 2023.
Mr McKenna said around 20 casual or part-time staff of the Newtown store had been affected by the closure.
He added that according to the information he had on hand so far, it didn’t appear that the businesses had any other significant debts to supplier creditors, but it was possible that staff and the landlord of the Newtown site may be owed a small amount of money.
Mr McKenna said that he was hoping the Newtown restaurant may re-open, either as a company-run store or under the control of a new franchisee.
“I’m talking with the franchisor about them coming in and reopening the Newtown store – either they’ll run it themselves or find another franchisee to run it,” he said.
However, he added that any such arrangement would be subject to the agreement of the site’s landlord.
Mr McKenna said the bulk of the tax debt was accumulated during the difficult trading conditions created by Covid-19, while the businesses had also suffered from increased input costs.
Specialising in Portuguese-style chicken, Oporto’s first restaurant was founded in 1986 by António Cerqueira, an Australian of Portuguese descent, Bondi, NSW.
Oporto Franchising is owned by fast-food business Craveable Brands, which also owns Red Rooster, Chicken Treat and Chargrill Charlie’s.
There are currently more than 190 Oportos trading around Australia.
The Oporto liquidations come after a popular cafe, Cornersmith, also in Sydney’s inner west announced it would be closing last week after the owner described the Australian hospitality industry as “a bit broken” due to the difficulty to make a profit.
New figures show that the number of food and beverage services in external administration is now above pre-Covid levels, after climbing steadily for most of 2023.
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