Sydney hospitality figure Jon Adgemis is facing further fallout from the collapse of his multimillion-dollar pub empire, with receivers revealing plans to sell five venues and confirming that staff at two of his former sites were short-changed.
In court on Tuesday, October 28, lawyers for administrators KordaMentha said their oversight of Adgemis’ failed hospitality group would need to be extended until June 2026 to manage venue sales, unpaid debts, and incomplete renovations.
The move follows lenders Deutsche Bank and Arkan Capital seizing control of the business on September 30, seeking to recover the $403 million they are owed.
Receivers McGrathNicol are now overseeing Adgemis’ five remaining properties, the Empire Hotel in Annandale, Claridge House in Darlinghurst, South Bondi Hotel, Exchange Hotel in Balmain, and Hotel Diplomat in Potts Point.
In court filings, McGrathNicol partner Jonathan Henry said the receivers were appointed after repeated missed debt payments.
He confirmed that employee entitlements at both the Empire and Diplomat hotels were “not up to date.”
Staff at the Empire are owed $57,200 in unpaid superannuation, while those at the Diplomat are owed at least $5,735.
Renovations remain incomplete across several sites. Claridge House is unlikely to be finished until February 2026, while the Exchange Hotel is not expected to be completed until April 2026.
The South Bondi Hotel, formerly Noah’s Backpackers, requires at least six weeks of safety works before it can be sold.
Receivers plan to offload all five venues, with Bondi expected to hit the market unfinished.
KordaMentha’s lawyers noted McGrathNicol’s assessment that creditors could achieve higher returns if work continues on the Claridge and Exchange hotels before their sale.
Justice Ian Jackman granted the administrators an extension, with creditors scheduled to meet again after July 1 next year.
Adgemis, once a rising name in Sydney’s hospitality scene, built an extensive portfolio of pubs and hotels through aggressive expansion before financial pressures and mounting debt triggered his business’s collapse.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
