Geelong Hotel operators enter administration with $500k-plus debt trail
The company behind the shuttered Geelong Hotel has been placed into voluntary administration, capping a turbulent 12 months marked by eviction, a failed business sale, and mounting debts to creditors ranging from the ATO to local utilities.
Geelong On Yarra Pty Ltd entered external administration on April 16, with Scott Andersen of Worrells appointed as administrator. Directors Mathew Dyer and Dean Trembath led the operation, while AFL premiership player Corey Enright and Max McKay held shares in the company.
The business operated the Geelong Hotel at 69 Yarra St until trading ceased in May last year, following a landlord dispute over unpaid rent and alleged property damage that culminated in a formal eviction. The company held off entering administration for close to a year while pursuing legal action and exploring a sale — a process cut short when the Australian Taxation Office moved on unpaid debts.
The unnamed property owner told the Geelong Advertiser the financial damage had continued well beyond the eviction, including a $15,000 Barwon Water bill left unpaid by the former tenants.
"I'm still paying tens of thousands of dollars in bills," he said, claiming the total owed to him exceeded $500,000.
He also alleged the directors accessed buyer funds from a proposed sale he had blocked after discovering the prospective purchasers lacked hospitality experience.
"Directors accessed the deposit for the sale of the property knowing that I wasn't going to allow it to go through, they spent the money, and those people lost their deposit, never recovered," he claimed.
A company spokesperson disputed the account, telling the Geelong Advertiser the sale collapsed due to circumstances outside their control, including alleged interference by the landlord.
"(This included) conduct by the landlord which we say materially interfered with the transaction and was directed toward securing a financial advantage. Legal proceedings are currently on foot in relation to those matters."
The spokesperson also cited pandemic disruption, rising operating costs, and a contraction in Geelong's CBD night-time economy as contributing factors, adding:
"(The directors) have committed substantial personal capital to support the business. The prolonged nature of these challenges has also taken a considerable personal toll, including on our mental health."
This marks the second administration involving the same principals in under a year, with sister entity MD Hotel Group — operator of The Inn Hotel — collapsing last year over unpaid energy bills and ATO debts. The landlord said more than 50 creditors are owed money across both companies.
The Yarra St venue remains vacant and listed for sale or lease, with its owner now applying significantly stricter criteria to prospective tenants.
Jonathan Jackson, 4th May 2026
