Case studies

Company - Franchise Food Outlet

Case four was established as a Company that had been formed by its owners to operate a number of franchised food outlets form two different franchises operated by the one Franchisor. Two of the stores were core businesses (C-MD and C-P) and one was not (NC-RH). The Company was structured as a corporate trustee with two separate discretionary trusts which operated the three stores that were located in western and north-western areas of Sydney. One trust having two stores and the other Trust having the remaining store. To fund the acquisition and operations of the group the company had an arrangement with one of the four major Australian banks (the Secured Creditor) which held all of the relevant securities and guarantees, including personal assets of the Directors.

Seaford Marketing Pty Limited (In Liquidation)

Schon Gregory Condon was appointed Voluntary Administrator by a Resolution of Creditors at the first meeting of creditors held on 29 January 2003. Messrs Malanos and Shepard were theappointed Administrators by the directors of the company.
The company operated as the Castle Hill Indoor Sports Centre for approximately 8 years prior to the appointment of the original Administrators. In 1998, a new director and shareholder was appointed a director of the company in order to assist with the management of the company's affairs from thereon. Over the course of the years however, a protracted shareholder dispute developed and eventually funding was withdrawn which resulted in the appointment of the original Administrators.
As a result of my appointment as Administrator, I assessed the viability of continuing to trade the company's business on in order to preserve its going concern status. I was instrumental in this decision and it proved to provide the best outcome for creditors.

Tri Car Pty Limited (In Liquidation) Trading As "Carmax"

Schon Gregory Condon was appointed as Joint Voluntary Administrator of the company on 19 July 2006. The company commenced operating in February 2001 as a Used Car Dealership in Richmond, NSW. The company was placed into liquidation on 15 August 2006.
In June 2003 the Directors moved the Dealership from Richmond to the Blacktown premises located at 77 Richmond Road, Blacktown, NSW. In June 2005 the Directors opened another Used Car Dealership in Kingswood. The Kingswood Dealership operated concurrently with the Blacktown Dealership.
As a result of cash flow problems and increasing pressure from Creditors, including the Australian Taxation Office, the Directors sought advice from the Company’s Solicitor who referred them to this Office. The Company was subsequently placed into Voluntary Administration.

Workforce Group

Years of forensic experience helped us unravel this challenging scenario which involved forged signatures, missing directors and destroyed records.

I was appointed Liquidator of the Workforce Group on 25 July 2003. The Workforce Group consisted of the following companies and businesses:

Pidip Pty Ltd previously traded as "Workforce on Tap Pty Ltd" and appears to have commenced operations around 1993. It was the purported franchiser of the "Workforce on Tap" business and had various franchisees that effectively operated branch offices in regional areas.
I had also been Liquidator of several related companies of the Workforce Group. Such companies were purportedly the franchisees and operated in Victoria and NSW. No formal or executed franchise agreements were ever provided to me and I remain unsatisfied as to whether there was ever any genuine franchise relationship in place ...