Huon Valley Seafoods enters liquidation after ‘significant falling out’ between founders and new investor
Operations at a key player in Tasmania’s seafood industry “declined” in the wake of a mainland buyout, its liquidator has revealed, with the indebted company allegedly owing millions.
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A Tasmanian seafood giant has collapsed amid a “significant falling out” between the company’s founders and a mainland investor who took control of the firm last year.
Huonville-based Huon Valley Seafoods, a vertically integrated company involved in the sourcing, processing, packaging, distribution, wholesaling and export of a variety of seafoods – including scallops, abalone, sea urchin, oysters, squid and salmon – entered liquidation on July 24.
Liquidator Louisa Sijabat, of Sydney outfit Merchants Advisory, told the Mercury creditor claims so far totalled about $3m, noting that the amounts were yet to be assessed and thus highly contingent.
She said that the collapse occurred in the context of an ongoing dispute between the company’s founders, local duo Ambrose Coad and Stephen Oates, respectively the former chief executive and chief operating officers, and a Melbourne-based investor that first came aboard in late 2021.
“Over the last couple of years the company had been in the process of being sold to some investors in Melbourne and there appears to have been a significant falling out between the former directors of the company, who are based in Huonville, and the new directors in Melbourne,” Ms Sijabat said.
“As far as I understand it, operations have declined in the last couple years.”
Huon Valley Seafoods, which employed about 12 “core employees” and provided seasonal work for up to 20 additional casuals, is being “actively marketed” for sale, Ms Sijabat said.
Options include the sale of the business itself; the sale of just its plant and equipment; or a package deal that also includes the “underlying commercial real property from where the company operates” – 49 Wilmot Rd, Huonville.
The Wilmot Rd facility is owned by a separate company belonging to Mr Coad and Mr Oates, SOAC Pty Ltd. That company remains unaffected by the liquidation.
According to documents filed with corporate regulator ASIC, Fin Capital Pty Ltd, an investment firm, first took a financial interest in Huon Valley Seafoods in late 2021, before taking a majority stake in May 2022.
As part of the May transaction, Ling Pu, the director and sole shareholder of Fin Capital, and Yuan-Sheng Xie replaced Mr Coad and Mr Oates as company directors and took over the day-to-day management of the business.
Since the appointment of Ms Sijabat on July 24, Mr Coad and Mr Oates have returned temporarily to operate Huon Valley Seafoods at reduced capacity in order to offer the business for sale as a going concern.
“I’m here right now doing scallops. What good work we can do, we’re doing,” Mr Coad told the Mercury.
“We still own the property so we’re trying to get out of it what we can. I’m not the laid back retired guy I should’ve been.”
Mr Coad said he was unable to share details of the falling out that led in part to the collapse.
“I’m still not in a position to say anything,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it is what it is.”
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