George Divitkos and Russell Heywood-Smith, of BDO, were appointed joint and several administrators of various companies in wine group.

Overview

Cockatoo Ridge Group, including ASX listed, Cockatoo Ridge Wines Limited, was founded in 1990 when award-winning McLaren Vale wine maker Geoff Merrill developed a range of wines centred around a label based on the Australian sulphur crested cockatoo. The group owned a winery in Monash, South Australia and operated a cellar door in the Barossa Valley.

The Challenge

On 20 January 2010, the directors of the Group appointed George Divitkos and Russell Heywood-Smith, of BDO, as the joint and several administrators of various companies in the the Group, including Cockatoo Ridge Wines Limited.

The Administrators took control of the Group’s assets and undertakings for the purpose of preserving the rights of the creditors of the Group. The business was being conducted under the supervision of the Administrators whilst an investigation was conducted into the Group’s viability.

The Directors had indicated that they intended to present a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) with a view to restructuring the business. The Administrators then presented the DOCA to creditors to decide upon whether to accept the proposal.

The DOCA proposed that a pool of funds be created upon re-listing of Cockatoo Wines Limited. This was then to be available to the creditors of the Group through a Creditors Trust.

The solution

The creditors accepted the proposal in mid 2010. The listed entity was re-listed at the end of 2011.

As a result, the secured creditor and employees received payments while in a liquidation scenario would have been unlikely.