Gold Coast Titans (Property) Pty Ltd crisis
Titans face another legal battle
Emmaline Stigwood | 04:17pm March 14, 2012
THE Gold Coast Titans are facing another legal battle with the builder of the Centre of Excellence moving to wind up the football club.
No lawyers for the Titans appeared in the Federal Court in Brisbane today where the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation had a matter listed to wind up a company associated with the club.
That's because the tax dispute, believed to be outstanding GST payments by Gold Coast Titans (Property) Pty Ltd, has been worked out behind the scenes with the Titans entering into a plan to pay off its dues.
Lawyers for the tax office told the court it was therefore discontinuing the winding up application.
However, a solicitor for Reed Constructions then got up to say the builder wanted to take up the case.
Reed Constructions, a national firm that hit the headlines this month due to troubled finances in its NSW division, was the company that took over the building of the Titans Centre of Excellence.
Reed Constructions would not make any comment on its legal case, which will now be heard on March 23.
Comment is being sought from the Titans.
More on this story in tomorrow's Gold Coast Bulletin.
Gold Coast Titans (Property) Pty Ltd avoid liquidation proceedings
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226299525588
Quote:
GOLD Coast Titans have avoided liquidation proceedings levelled against the club's property arm, with the Australian Tax Office dropping a Federal Court lawsuit in Brisbane this afternoon.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the Australian Taxation Office commenced moves on 16 February to have Gold Coast Titans (Property) Pty Ltd wound-up.
The company was registered in 2007 to own and operate the $20 million Centre of Excellence and Titanium Bar, which has been at the centre of a series of financial disputes between Gold Coast boss Michael Searle and various builders.
After an ugly split with the original builder ? Simcorp - in early 2010, Searle engaged Reed Constructions to complete the multi-storey development at Robina.
And so it goes.
Should we be worried? I mean yippee the Titans haven't been liquidated, awesome, high fives all round and all that.
But these rumours of financial trouble won't go away and the centre of excellence is at the... Well, centre of it.
Searle puts Titans before building
Quote:
Searle puts Titans before building
Shannon Willoughby, chief reporter | 06:53am March 16, 2012
GOLD Coast Titans boss Michael Searle says the club would sell its embattled Centre of Excellence "graciously" to keep its football team alive.
The head of the city's NRL team denied the club was in financial strife, but admitted it was seeking to raise capital from the Papua New Guinea Government to pay back bank loans.
Under the spotlight at a media conference yesterday, Mr Searle said he would do "whatever it takes" to keep the team solvent.
He refused to speculate on what the building -- which has been at the centre of legal battles in the past two years -- was worth or whether they had looked for a buyer.
On Wednesday, a move to try to wind up the Titans Property Trust was thrown out of the Federal Court in Brisbane.
Mr Searle said he would "keep talking" with Reed Constructions Australia, which completed the Robina centre in 2010.
The company is understood to be pursuing Mr Searle for $1.5 million.
Mr Searle said his priority was the football team and its fans.
"At the end of the day we will do whatever it takes to maintain a football team," Mr Searle said. "It is not about the building. To me the club is about the people and if it (selling the Centre of Excellence) came to that we would do it, and do it graciously," he said.
"I have no problems at all. I have no emotional attachment to the Centre of Excellence.
"We would possibly consider a sell and lease-back arrangement."
Mr Searle stressed the football team was a separate entity to the property trust and the Titans were financially stable.
He said there were discussions with the PNG Government about a "broad range of things", including capital raising and social development in indigenous communities.
"We are not talking about a sale -- let's get that clear," he said.
"What we are talking about is a broad range of options and one of them is a capital raise.
"Not to give everyone an economics lesson, but a sale is different to a capital raise.
"Everyone is trying to take the banks out but reducing debt. That capital raise is something we will look at."
He said if the opportunity to raise funds from PNG fell over, other options would be considered.
goldcoast.com.au