Celebrity chef George Calombaris may soon open a restaurant at Sydney’s Oxford Tavern, potentially by Christmas, as lenders aim to acquire more assets from troubled publican Jon Adgemis.
Ben Madsen’s Archibald Capital is seeking $28 million to purchase the Oxford Tavern and five other venues previously run by Adgemis. Adgemis’ name is absent from the fundraising documents, and he is not expected to be involved in the new venture.
Archibald, an opportunistic debt investment firm, was a previous lender to Adgemis’ Public Hospitality Group (PHG), with the asset transfers part of a prior agreement.
Adgemis, who once oversaw an extensive portfolio of over 20 pubs, bars, and hotels, is now facing a significant reduction in his holdings following recent actions by lenders, including Archibald.
He is left with only a few venues in development, one of which is a hotel planned for the former site of Noah’s Backpackers at Bondi Beach, purchased for $68 million in 2022. This marks a stark contrast to his previous expansive presence in the Sydney hospitality scene.
Recently, five of his former hotels were also placed into administration by Muzinich & Co, a New York-based private credit provider, and are now on the market.
Hotels affected include the Strand Hotel located on the outskirts of Sydney’s CBD, Camelia Grove Hotel in Alexandria, the Norfolk Hotel in Redfern, the boutique Oxford House in Paddington, and the Exchange Hotel, which is a closed pub and development site on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst.
This latest development marks another blow in a string of misfortunes for Adgemis who struck a $400 million refinancing deal in May 2024 with Deutsche Bank, Gemi Investments, Archibald Capital and Muzinich & Co, to save his PHG from collapse.
Adgemis’ project started to fray after he took on hundreds of millions in debt at high interest rates from a variety of lenders just before financing costs rose. Some lenders started trying to sell off his properties, staff were left out of pocket, and suppliers were unpaid. The Australian Taxation Office also visited the pub group’s offices in early May 2024.
In June this year, operations at the Hellenic Club of Sydney’s Alpha restaurant and Beta Events were taken over by Con Dedes of Dedes Waterfront Group after PHG made a swift exit.
Source: Financial Review.
