The co-op, which has 20,000 members and has been around since 1946, is in debt to 125 creditors including popular winemakers Tyrrell, Casella and Oatleys.
But the creditors will receive a much lower payout than expected – a return of just 1 to 2 cents in each dollar compared to the 15 to 30 cents the society’s board said they would pay,Winemaker Tyrrell is expected to receive little more than a cent on every dollar of the $1.8 million they’re owed.Source:News Corp Australia
This comes after the sale of the society’s assets fell short, with its administrator agreeing to a sale deal with Wine Collective Holdings for less than $1.4 million. Wine Collective Holdings, which has been running the co-op’s day-to-day operations since 2016, will have ownership of the society’s liquor licence, intellectual property and database when the agreement is completed later this month.
Wine Industry Advisors Australasia, the company owned by the society’s former chairman Robert Whitton, has claimed a debt of $400,000.