Closed Sunshine Coast NightQuarter venue could owe more than $7 million

Newly released documents from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show that the company behind the recently closed NightQuarter live music venue on the Sunshine Coast could owe up to $4.2 million to secured creditors and up to $3.2 million to unsecured creditors.

Liquidators to Food Focus Australia Pty Ltd - the company behind the Birtinya venue have so far been advised of about $1.6 million worth of debt claimed to be owed to 21 secured creditors and about $2.02 million worth of debts owed to 92 unsecured creditors. However, as reported by the Sunshine Coast Daily, those figures could change as investigations continue.

Among the secured creditors listed in the SV Partners report was more than $1 million owed to Stockland - landlord of NightQuarter - and more than $250,000 worth of debt owed to the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority.

In addition, staff are owed almost $300,000 in unpaid super and leave entitlements while the the Australian Taxation Office is one of several unsecured creditors listed, claiming to be owed $638,397.

The award-winning venue shut its doors on 28th November, with the Directors Ian Van der Woude and Michelle Christoe citing setbacks due to Covid-19 restrictions and poor crowd numbers as reasons for the closure.

The pair had become directors of Sandgate Taphouse Pty Ltd in April and the newly renovated historic North Brisbane pub Sandgate Post Office Hotel was opened on 11th November.

Vendors at NightQuarter have been reported as being surprised by the closure but Christoe has denied vendors had been kept in the dark about the closure.

The SV Partners report advised that Malt Shovel Taphouse had continued to have traded in the weeks since entering administration, turning almost $80,000 profit in the first three weeks of operation.

The document also stated there was about $100,000 worth of money owed to the company in pre-appointment debt, related to NightQuarter vendor licence fees, functions and Malt Shovel Taphouse functions.

The report states that SV Partners’ preliminary investigations had identified 26 payments, totalling approximately $520,000, that may be considered as unfair preference payments that could also be recoverable.

Christoe said they were continuing to work with administrators to achieve the best outcome possible for all creditors and that they were working on developing a draft Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) that could provide a better outcome than liquidation.

As reported by the Sunshine Coast Daily, she explained "this will be presented to creditors at a future meeting."

Christou went on to advise that the business had been victims of a changing market post-COVID and they were working with researchers on study groups with the goal of developing a white paper with further understanding of the shifting marketplace to share among the industry.

The situation was expected to be reviewed at a creditors meeting on 5th January, but in their report SV Partners recommended an adjournment citing various contingencies that could be put into place to avoid liquidation.

The liquidators’ report states the administrators had been in contact with the landlord and were “in the process of commencing an expression of interest campaign to purchase the company’s assets/IP relevant to Night Quarter and/or enter into a new lease agreement for that premises with the landlord”.

The 1,500-capacity venue was built from shipping containers and opened during the pandemic in November 2020.

Images: The NightQuarter venue closed at the end of last month (top) and the venue's co-owners Ian Van der Woude and Michelle Christoe (below). Credit: NightQuarter.