Liquidators appointed to former companies behind The Grounds café empire
Liquidators have been appointed to four companies used to run The Grounds cafe empire over a $1.6 million taxation debt.
The Grounds founders Ramzey Choker and Jack Hanna have also been referred to ASIC for investigation and may face being banned from running companies.
Two of the liquidated companies used to operate the cafes at The Grounds of Alexandria and The Grounds of the City were both put in the hands of liquidators in late 2018 owing $747,934 and $491,817 respectively in unpaid tax.
The company that operated the restaurant inside the Alexandria complex, known as The Potting Shed, owed the ATO $167,152, while the operation’s coffee bean wholesaling operation had tax debts of $201,084.
But in 2017 and 2018, Choker and Hanna were paid a combined $703,195 by the operation and were likely further remunerated by other arms of the business, according to the liquidator’s reports filed with ASIC.
Liquidators are also trying to unravel the paper trail to uncover where the company paid more than $9 million in other “management fees” between 2016 and 2018.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Choker’s lawyer Mark O’Brien said his client had “fully complied with his obligations as a former director of the companies” and as the “ongoing sole director” of the business as it continues to operate.
O’Brien also stated that Choker and Hanna “no longer share any common business interests”.
The liquidator has recommended ASIC investigate Choker and Hanna for failing to pay tax and incomplete financial records, and also questioned whether they should be banned from acting as company directors for up to five years following their track record of presiding over two or more companies that have been liquidated within seven years.
The liquidation is expected to be completed
Sheridan Randall, 25th February 2020
