Liquidator appointed to rogue pub company
A Sydney pub operator that owed money to multiple beer and wine suppliers, as well as its landlord, has been wound up by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
FW F&B Pty Ltd took over the leasehold of the East Village Hotel in Darlinghurst in 2010, rebranding it as The Village.
The venue initially received strong reviews for its makeover and new food and beverage offering, however TheShout understands the company gradually fell behind on its payments to numerous suppliers .
According to Supreme Court records, one of the suppliers, Southern Sphere Wines, succeeded last week in getting a Supreme Court order to have FW F&B wound up.
Acting Registrar Rebel Kenna last week ordered that Andrew Barnden of Rodgers Reidy Chartered Accountants be appointed as liquidator of FW F&B. FW F&B was also ordered to pay Southern Sphere's legal costs.
Southern Sphere representatives declined to comment on the ruling, which is not the only legal action facing FW F&B.
Young Henrys founder Richard Adamson told TheShout his brewery won a default judgment against the publican in the Newtown Local Court after FW F&B failed to show up to a hearing over outstanding accounts.
"They never paid. Even when you get a default judgment you've still got to chase and get the money," Adamson said.
He said Young Henrys is just one of many small craft brewers owed money by FW F&B.
The owners of the East Village freehold recently took back control of the pub's operations, having reportedly locked FW F&B out for failing to pay its rent.
"I can confirm that they owe a lot of other people money, because we get phone calls every day," one of the owners told TheShout. She declined to comment further.
Rodgers Reidy accountant Francis Li is assisting Andrew Barnden in the liquidation of FW F&B.
"This is a statutory appointment and we haven't actually got much information – we haven't actually got in touch with the director yet," he said.
He said any parties owed money by FW F&B need to contact his office so they can be listed as one of the creditors.
Source: The Shout, 19 November 2013
