Court battle puts historic Brisbane hotel plans on hold
A falling out between a developer with plans to convert a heritage-listed Queen Street Mall building into a hotel and contractor has ended up in court.
Russell Wood’s plans to turn a landmark historical Brisbane building into a New York style bar are in financial jeopardy because another company which runs his bar-restaurant The Malthouse in Robina could be wound up following a dispute with a shop-fitting company over allegedly unpaid bills.
Shop-fitters Dux Studio asked the Supreme Court to appoint a liquidator to The Malthouse Australia Pty Ltd for failing to pay an $86,544 bill owed for invoices from 2017.
Wood, the sole director and majority shareholder of The Malthouse and the sole shareholder of Penny Black Hotel Pty Ltd, has not filed a defence to the request to wind up his company, but in a related case claimed Dux “has not justified the costs it has claimed on the invoices”.
Wood told the Supreme Court in Brisbane that Dux had agreed to carry over “$100,000” worth of work if the company worked across both The Malthouse and Penny Black Hotel project, with the sum not due until Dux completed the fitout of the Penny Black Hotel.
The application to wind up The Malthouse Australia is due in court on March 21.
11th February 2019
