JAGA Group (Public Hospitality) enters administration amid sweeping enforcement by senior lenders

The extensive collapse of Jon Adgemis’ hotel empire has deepened, with KordaMentha’s Ryan Rabbitt, Jennifer Nettleton and Scott Langdon appointed voluntary administrators to JAGA HoldCo Pty Ltd and 17 related entities on 30 September 2025, immediately following the appointment of McGrathNicol’s Jonathan Henry, Damien Pasfield and Katherine Sozou as receivers and managers by senior secured lenders.

The dual appointments—initiated by lenders including Deutsche Bank AG London Branch and Arkkan Opportunities Fund Ltd, represented by Corrs Chambers Westgarth—cover more than a dozen operating companies behind Adgemis’ Public Hospitality Group portfolio, which included Sydney venues such as The Empire Hotel, The Diplomat, and Bondi Public. The enforcement action came amid mounting debts, complex intercompany funding structures, and multiple layers of senior, mezzanine, and convertible-note facilities administered by Global Loan Agency Services (GLAS).

According to the administrators’ filings, KordaMentha was brought in by the secured lenders to represent the interests of all creditors while McGrathNicol continues to control day-to-day operations and asset sales “on a business-as-usual basis.” An initial creditors’ meeting is scheduled for 13 October 2025.

The administration marks the latest stage in the unravelling of Adgemis’ $1.8 billion hospitality network, following years of financial strain, tax debts and regulatory scrutiny of his Public Hospitality Operating Co, which owed $123 million to the ATO. Receivers are now tasked with stabilising remaining assets and advancing a sale process under intense lender oversight.

On 3 October 2025, the Federal Court declared Jon Adgemis himself bankrupt, appointing Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners as trustee of his estate following concerns about the fairness of Adgemis’ failed personal insolvency proposal, which offered just 0.15 cents in the dollar to creditors.