Village Group Management Services Pty Ltd - Case Update

Jonathon Keenan and Peter Krejci of BRI Ferrier have given an update on their administration of Village Group Management Services Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based company providing labour services to various hospitality venues within the Darlin Group, namely Barkley’s Barbecue, Village Crown, The Stoned Crow and Surly’s. The company entered voluntary administration on 7 June, 2023. The company earned management fee income from these venues for the labour services, primarily represented by the staffing costs incurred plus a percentage of venue revenues. However, the venues were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages and more recently, interest rate rises. These factors have affected the cashflows for the venues, and they have not paid the company services in full, in turn causing the company to be unable to pay substantial liabilities owed to the ATO and Revenue NSW. A DOCA is being proposed to restructure the company’s balance sheet that will see unsecured creditors potentially receive between 8 and 10 cents in the dollar. The appointment was referred to the administrators by Miriam Toro of PTE Partners, the external accountant for the company. Full report.