HLB Mann Judd partner Greg Quinn. West Australian liquidator Greg Quinn has secured the result he wanted following a court application to resolve a clear conflict. The HLB Mann Judd partner is the liquidator of Flexi Staff Pty Ltd (Flexi Staff), as well as the liquidator of its related entity, Texpoint Pty Ltd (Texpoint). “A liquidator has a conflict of duties in exercising any power…
Jill Stewart, Professional & Financial Lines leader – Willis Towers Watson After more than 30 years Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has seemingly concluded that it can no longer make a buck offering insurance to businesses that have been placed in external administration. Earlier this month the global insurance behemoth acted on that conclusion by shutting Open Cover, its popular automatic insurance facility for entities placed…
Philip Damien Whiteman. Photo courtesy ABC News. Opinion The authorities responsible for overseeing the conduct of corporations frequently remind the public of the cost of illegal phoenixing. Billions lost every year. Responsibly run businesses damaged through innocent association with unscrupulous recidivists. The undermining of public confidence in free and fair markets. “In 2016, evidence was obtained by the Australian Taxation Office “during an access without…
Grant Thornton’s John McInerney. Grant Thornton’s Phil Campbell-Wilson. It all started when lawyer Thomas Russell sent an email on July 2, 2019 to then Jirsch Sutherland partner Sule Arnautovic. Russell wanted to set up a time to discuss a potential VA appointment. He told Arnautovic he acted for Florian Heymans, the sole director of two companies operating under the Robust Construction Services Pty Ltd banner….
Ex-KordaMentha partner Rahul Goyal. Top tier independent KordaMentha has lost a work winner with the departure of senior partner Rahul Goyal. For several weeks the insolvency grape vine has hummed with whispers about a potential move and Goyal confirmed the rumours through his Linked In page, which lists his 10 years and one month at KordaMentha as ending in September 2023. KordaMentha staff were informed…
Oracle Advisory founder Nick Cooper. No trustee likes to have their hand forced but when the consequences of a coerced injunction application include an adverse costs order well, we bet nobody tells aspiring trustees there’ll be days like these, as the late John Lennon lamented. “I am not satisfied, however, that the Trustee proposes to enter into a contract of sale if an injunction is…
Litigation Funding Solutions director David Purcell. When a litigation funder has to call in a liquidator you know the plan, whatever it might have been, was found wanting. You also know that if the decision to wind up the company voluntary came shortly after a court made orders averse to the litigation funder’s interests then the liquidator will probably find him or herself adjudicating more…
SV Partners’ Stuart Otway. With the kid gloves well and truly off in respect of tax arrears, the number of directors seeking small business restructuring (SBR) protection has surged but it seems that when the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is the only creditor, satisfying the requirements doesn’t guarantee a plan will approved. In the Federal Court yesterday, an application for the hearing of a winding…
Cor Cordis’s Jeremy Nipps. What’s the world come to when a dispenser of justice prefers the evidence of a recruitment consultant over that of a registered liquidator? End of times is what. Probity. Integrity. Acting at times as officers of the court. Liquidators are rightly held to a high standard. The reputation of recruitment consultants meanwhile has journalists and lawyers hastening to stand by their…
Vincents’ Nick Combis. Federal Court judge Brigitte Markovic has dashed the hopes of the receivers of foreign currency exchange Navigate Global Payments (NGP) by siding with a contingent creditor on the question of whether the company should be wound up or returned to administration. Her honour’s rulings – to be found in Shiny (Trustee), in the matter of Navigate Global Payments Pty Ltd (Receivers and…