Victorian solar energy company collapses with $3.8m in debts

All staff have lost their jobs while suppliers are millions out of pocket after a massive company collapsed in Victoria.

EXCLUSIVE

All staff have lost their jobs while suppliers are millions of dollars out of pocket after a solar energy provider collapsed.

News.com.au can reveal that Victorian electricity and energy business G-Store Pty Ltd went into administration in February and the company ceased to trade immediately.

G-Store, headquartered in Melbourne’s Malvern East and also with premises in regional Victoria in Warragul, specialised in installing custom solar energy and sustainability options into homes.

It had been in business since 2007 but the company had racked up large debts amid the economic downturn and also because its sole director Dion Epstein was battling a cancer diagnosis which caused the company to slide.

Philip Newman of restructuring firm PCI Partners was appointed as the administrator of G-Store.

In a statutory report lodged to the corporate regulator and obtained by news.com.au, Mr Newman stated that the company had total liabilities of $3.8 million and more than 100 creditors.

G-Store collapsed last month.

Creditors are deciding on G-Store’s fate next Friday.

“The employment of the majority of the company’s employees was terminated on 7 February, with only a small number of staff retained to assist with ongoing enquiries,” Mr Newman wrote.

“The remaining staff were terminated by close of business on 13 February.”

G-Store owes 139 unsecured creditors $2.2 million, while secured lenders are owed the remainder of the $3.8 million debt.

Of that, some customers are also owed money, after paying for solar energy to be installed into their homes, but with the installation never eventuating.

“The company did not complete a number of works for which it had received deposits from customers,” the report noted.

“Unfortunately, these customers will now rank as unsecured creditors for the deposits paid to the company.”

Staff are also owed a hefty amount — $437,000 — from unpaid annual leave, long service leave, superannuation and redundancy payments.

The company hadn’t paid superannuation since January 1, racking up $24,000 in super debts to employees.

Of the total amount owed to staff, $123,000 is owed to the director, Mr Epstein, and his wife.

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G-Store specialised in solar panelling and sustainable electricity options.

Complicating matters further is that Mr Epstein personally guaranteed a number of loans so he is personally in debt to the tune of $1.182 million.

G-Store started making losses in 2021. In the last full financial year it made a loss of $503,000

“The above indicates that the company may have been technically insolvent since at least 30 June 2021,” Mr Newman noted in his report.

However, he pointed out it was more likely the business had access to finance, most of it from the Epstein family, which meant it only became insolvent for a “short period of time” before going into administration last month.

Indeed, the director’s wife is owed $85,000 for propping up the company while the Epstein Family Trust provided $247,012.75 by way of funding which it is now owed.

Mr Epstein’s father, Robert Epstein, is the director of one of G-Store’s secured creditors, Coltvale Pty Ltd.

Coltvale Pty Ltd has put forward a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) which is where they offer to buy back G-Store and wipe its debts at a fraction of the cost.

The DOCA put forward will give creditors 2.2 cents back for every dollar they are owed, if it is executed.

On March 8, at the next creditor meeting, creditors will decide if they will accept the DOCA or if they will place the company into liquidation.

As Mr Epstein personally guaranteed a large chunk of his company’s debts, he could be facing bankruptcy if the DOCA is not accepted.

G-Store had $142,000 left in its bank account when Mr Newman took over.

The stock the business had has been valued at $145,000.

On top of that, the company’s plant and other office equipment has an estimated worth of between $122,000 and $171,000.

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Originally published as Victorian solar energy company collapses with $3.8m in debts