Slow Tempo Hols progress

THE Administrator of the collapsed Tempo Holidays is continuing to pursue claims against the firm’s directors, including an amended statement of claim against Patrick Tully totalling almost $32 million.

The company, which ceased trading over three years ago ( TD 20 Sep 2019), was owned by India-based Cox & Kings, itself put into receivership just a few weeks later ( TD 31 Oct 2019).

An update was issued this week by Tempo liquidator Laurence Fitzgerald from William Buck, noting that a funding agreement had been entered into with the Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) to support his investigations into the collapse.

The claims against the directors include $26 million for insolvent trading, and another $5.8 million claim for breaches of directors’ duties, with Tully being pursued for both amounts.

No claim has been brought against the other director, Peter Kerkar, “due to the cost and complexity of pursuing a defendant residing overseas”.

Fitzgerald noted the company had an active director and officers’ insurance policy at the time of his appointment in 2019, and the insurers have been joined to the claim.

A court-ordered mediation session took place earlier this year, with evidence now awaited from the defendants prior to a case management hearing scheduled for Feb 2023.

There are also a number of overseas “related party” debtors but Fitzgerald said despite lodging claims to the various other administrators in the UK, India and Japan, there has been no significant progress or recovery.

The liquidator in India has advised that any dividend to ordinary creditors is unlikely.