South Sydney Leagues Club in administration
South Sydney Leagues Club, which shares the same building as the Rabbitohs football club, has called in corporate paramedics in the latest chapter of its protracted battle to stay afloat.
Almost a year to the day after Fairfax Media revealed that the leagues club was in financial difficulty, its board has appointed Adam Shepard from a Sydney insolvency firm as an administrator.
Mr Shepard said it was premature to comment on the club's financial position.
Happier times ... South Sydney Rabbitohs legends gather at a lunch at South Sydney
"It is a matter of trying to facilitate an arrangement with creditors to allow the company to go forward," he said.
"We still haven't ascertained the complete picture. They do own property – it is a matter of ascertaining what the assets are worth."
The club, also known as Souths on Chalmers, operates 60 pokie machine licences, restaurant and bar facilities. It also owns half of a floor of the four-storey building in Redfern.
... And unhappy times too. Angry Souths supporters gather outside the Leagues Club after
South Sydney chief executive Liam Rogers said the club would continue to trade as it has done on a daily basis. "It's business as usual," he said.
The club is a different legal entity to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Fairfax Media revealed last March that the club was in difficulty and owed more than $1 million to tradesmen for work completed on the refurbished Redfern premises.
Its chairman, Bill Alexiou-Hucker, said at the time he was trying to obtain funds to meet the overdue payments to contractors who worked on the fit-out of the club.
He said the club's day-to-day revenue was healthy but confirmed it was seeking an injection of funds to secure its finances.
Asked at the time if he was concerned about the club's finances, Mr Alexiou-Hucker said: "I wake up [at night] but also our CEO, Ken Stewart, he doesn't sleep. I go to bed every night with a knot in my stomach. I feel terrible."
