Paradise lost: Pub baron Jon Adgemis leaves $100m waterfront mansion

Cash-strapped Jon Adgemis has called in removalists to his Sydney Harbour hideaway as his rent-free run ends, with staff of his collapsed company still waiting for cash.

Jon Adgemis and fiance Megan MacKenzie. Picture: Ned Simes

Cash-strapped pub baron Jon Adgemis is moving out of a $100 million waterfront property in Sydney as his distressed hotels go on the market.

The former KPMG kingpin has been in the process of leaving the “Bang and Olufsen” house in the exclusive Point Piper neighbourhood on Sydney Harbour.

The home, which was given the nickname by Elton John in the 1980s because it looked like a high-end stereo from the water, is owned by a Chinese investor who allowed Mr Adgemis to stay there in exchange for property maintenance.

Mr Adegmis was now looking for a new home as he faces life following the collapse of his company Public Hospitality Group, which was under a complicated $500 million refinancing deal.

Jon Adegmis is in the process of leaving the “Bang and Olufsen” house in the exclusive Point Piper neighbourhood on Sydney Harbour. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Angry staff are still owed superannuation, long service leave, holiday and redundancy pay, with a creditors report last week giving them no clarity on when they would be paid.

“We just have to wait, I’m not sure if I should access the Federal Government scheme, but that only covers redundancy, it doesn’t cover my super,” a former staffer said.

A creditors meeting for Mr Adgemis’ Public Lifestyle Management, which included the company’s head office staff, was expected to be held later this month.

Administrator Duncan Clubb of BDO advisory, which has taken over Public Lifestyle Management, said it was “too early to tell” if staff would be paid.

But Mr Adgemis, speaking on behalf of his other company the Jaga Group, said there was a plan to pay all staff through a Deed of Company Arrangement which he was working on.

“The proposal will ensure that employees who have not had their entitlements transferred to the new venue operators will have their entitlements, including superannuation, paid in full,” he said.

“The proposal also includes a substantial return to all unsecured creditors.”

The “Bang & Olufsen house” Mr Adgemis is moving out of. Picture: Supplied

Mr Adgemis declined to comment when asked about his move from the exclusive Point Piper home, which last sold for $33 million in 2013.

Local real estate agents estimate the home to be worth more than $100 million based on comparable sales in the tightly held area.

Receivers from FTI Consulting, who were appointed separately to BDO advisory, were expected to put four Sydney venues from Mr Adgemis’ Public group up for sale this week.

The Strand Hotel, Camelia Grove, the Norfolk Hotel and Oxford House were due to go under the hammer to repay New York financiers Muzinich and Co, who pulled the pin on Mr Adgemis’ company debts.

Inside the $100m mansion. Picture: Supplied

Mr Adgemis was previously on top of the world as he built a network of more than 20 venues across Sydney and Melbourne, with many purchased on cheap interest rates at the peak of the property market.

He was seen as a hospitality star as he controlled a number of high profile venues including boutique hotels like Oxford House in Sydney and Karen Martini’s St George in St Kilda.

Mr Adgemis’s company had also shelled out $68 million for Noah’s Backpackers in Bondi in 2022.

The corner block on Campbell Parade was described as one of Sydney’s best development sites, across the road from Icebergs, but has remained closed.

However, The Australian Taxation Office raided Public Hospitality Group’s offices earlier this year to search for documents amid serious concerns about the company’s financial practices.

Staff were owed as much as $8 million in unpaid superannuation, which in some cases was not paid for more than 12 months.

Originally published as Paradise lost: Pub baron Jon Adgemis leaves $100m waterfront mansion