$375,000 owed to creditors

Toowoomba motel in liquidation

A TOOWOOMBA accommodation provider that went into liquidation last week owes at least $375,000 to a number of creditors.

Operators of the Toowoomba Motel and Events Centre, Brett and Kylie Myers, said they were “heartbroken” at having to place their familyowned business into liquidation, shutting the doors for good on October 20.

A report filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission by liquidators Domenic Calabretta and Grahame Ward of Mackay Goodwin shows the business owed $375,448 to seven creditors, and had roughly $100,000 worth of assets.

HCB Property Solutions is the biggest creditor, owed $257,819 while the ANZ Bank is next on the list, owed $105,000.

About 10 employees lost their jobs as a result of the liquidation.

Last week, Mr Myers said “quite high rental commitments”, the increased cost of outgoings like electricity and rent, and the impact of a number of under-construction developments in the immediate vicinity of the motel which “heavily impacted the day-today business” all contributed to the motel’s closure.

“It’s extremely disheartening when you put your heart and soul into (the business) and try back it up financially and for reasons out of our control we weren’t able to make it happen,” Mr Myers said.

The Myers purchased the lease of the motel in June 2015 and began a series of refurbishments shortly thereafter.

Owner of the property Barry Bernoth said he was in the process of looking for another motel operator “who might be interested in taking over the day-to-day running” of the motel.

Liquidators Domenic Calabretta and Grahame Ward have three months to lodge a statutory report to creditors with ASIC.