Biryani King’s spicy $650k debt stirs up trouble
Liquidators claim a Geelong CBD Indian restaurant racked up more than $650,000 in debt and may have traded while insolvent since opening in 2020.
Liquidators allege an Indian restaurant in the heart of Geelong’s CBD stacked debts like dishes, accruing more than $650,000 of outstanding payments in just five years and allegedly trading while insolvent since opening its doors.
Bharat Cafe Geelong Pty Ltd, trading as Biryani King on 39 Malop St, was forced into liquidation after the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered it to wind up in March this year.
In a report lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, liquidator Bruno Secatore, of SSB Advisory, claimed Bharat Cafe Geelong’s sole director Kalpana Anna had not provided him essential information.
“Despite numerous requests, the director has failed to provide me with … the company’s books and records,” Mr Secatore alleged.
“I further note that the company does not appear to have maintained sufficient books and records, as required by law.”
Mr Secatore said it was hard to determine exactly when the insolvent trading began without access to proper records, but alleged it could have been from the day the business was established in July 2020.
A “final determination” is yet to be reached on the insolvent trading claim, but Mr Secatore estimated it could be worth up to $655,000 – the company’s total known debt.
The largest portion of this is owed to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which submitted a claim for nearly $270,000 relating to unpaid business loans taken out by Biryani King.
Mr Secatore alleged the collapse of Biryani King could be attributed to an “inability to service” the CBA loans as well as “poor financial control” and compliance issues.
He also alleged Ms Anna had made “unreasonable director related transactions” worth up to $315,000.
Insolvency experts Worrells define an unreasonable director related transactions as activity that “has little or no benefit to the company” and that parties to the transaction must return the asset or make a payment to the liquidator.
Mr Secatore claimed Ms Anna had breached her duties by “failing to maintain adequate books and records”, not assisting the liquidation process and making unreasonable director related transactions.
The premises where Biryani King operated has since been filled with another Indian restaurant, called Begam.
It is run by Parmjit and Gurpreet Singh and has a 4.8 star Google rating from 80 reviews since it opened in April.
There is no suggestion the Singh brothers have any connection to Ms Anna or Biryani King.
Ms Anna could not be contacted for comment, while Mr Secatore did not respond when contacted.
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Originally published as Biryani King’s spicy $650k debt stirs up trouble
