The sale of a 105-acre, $117.5 million property at Gurner Avenue in Austral, New South Wales, will be a hot topic of discussion at the Hellenic Village’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, September 23.
According to a President’s Report seen by The Greek Herald and sent to the 21 Greek associations in Sydney (Unit Holders)* which make up the Hellenic Village, the Board continues to work towards completing the sale of the property and establishing “a new charitable structure” to manage the distribution of the sale proceeds.
President George Mpliokas said in the report that the “sale of the land at Kemps Creek has continued with the purchaser proceeding with their Due Diligence period,” and a $200,000 non-refundable deposit has been transferred to Hellenic Village. Mr Mpliokas said this non-refundable deposit would be utilised to pay associated legal costs and reduce the Hellenic Village’s loan balances.
The purchaser’s Due Diligence period is scheduled to conclude in October, after which they will make a final decision whether to proceed with buying the land.
This update comes after The Greek Herald first reported in November 2023 that the Unit Holders unanimously agreed to sell the Austral property for $117.5 million during an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Monday, 30 October 2023. During the EGM, the Unit Holders could not come to an agreement on how the proceeds of sale from the Austral property should be distributed.
According to a resolution put forward at the EGM, the Board recommended that 50 percent of the Total Net Proceeds from the sale of the land be distributed on a pro-rata basis to Unit Holders on the basis of how many shares each one holds in the land. The remaining funds will be donated by Unit Holders to the proposed charitable structure, Australian-Hellenic Future Fund (AHFF).
The AHFF would be used to invest back into the Greek community for a cultural building or toward existing Greek Australian initiatives for the benefit of the wider Greek Australian community. There is no word yet on how the AHFF will be managed.
As this resolution was not passed at the EGM, Unit Holders are expected to discuss what will happen with the sale funds at the upcoming AGM on September 23.
Other topics set to be on the agenda at the AGM include: adopting minutes from the last AGM in 2023; presenting the President’s Report; considering the appointment of a new Director to the Board following the resignation of Andreas Kolovos; and considering the Financial Reports and the Auditor’s report of the Company for the financial years ended 30 June 2023.
Unit Holders have not been provided with the Financial Report as yet. In his President’s Report, Mr Mpliokas explained “the latest draft financials statements received from BT&A [Consultants] on 30 August contain a number of minor errors that has delayed their ratification, and as such the Board will ratify and share these once the errors are corrected.”
“The Board acknowledges the delay and has worked proactively to ensure we are brought back up to date, ahead of the upcoming AGM,” Mr Mpliokas said.
*The 21 Greek associations who make up the Hellenic Village Ltd:
- Order of AHEPA NSW INC – 3 shares
- AHEPA Heracles INC – 3 shares
- Apollo Sports and Cultural Club – 1 share.
- Cyprus Hellene Club Inc – 2 shares.
- Diakofton Association – 3 shares.
- Elassona Philanthropic Association – 3 shares
- Greek Taxi Drivers’ Assoc. – 1 share
- Hassion Philanthropic Assoc – 3 shares
- Hellenic Club of Sydney – 3 shares
- Helmos Philanthropic Association – 3 shares
- Kalavryton Society (NSW) ‘Aghia Lavra’ Inc – 3 shares
- Lefkadian Brotherhood of NSW LTD – 2 shares
- Messolonghi Association – 3 PO
- Meteora Association – 3 shares
- Pan-Arcadian Association of NSW – 2 shares
- Pan-Korinthian Association of NSW – 2 shares
- Pan-Nafpaktian Association ‘Nafpaktos’ – 2 shares
- Pan-Thessalian Federation – 2 shares
- Pan-Thracian Association of NSW ‘Democritus’ – 2 shares
- Association of Plataneon ‘O Platanos’ – 3 shares
- Saint Barbara Philanthropic Association – 2 shares
