Coaster not ‘appy as tech bid derails
He’s raised millions from all sorts of people in Australia Francis Galbally
A GOLD Coast entrepreneur’s bid to control world rights to real-time booking apps is being derailed despite a successful 13-year battle to win patents over the system.
Allotz.com, founded by IT expert Martin Mcconnachie of Ashmore, won Australian and US patent licences in 2019 for a cloud-based online hotel and airline booking system.
In a 2020 brochure, he said the patents could bring untold wealth, if thousands of global firms were found in breach.
The patents could force airline, hotel, tourism and retail giants using the cloud-based system to pay for the right.
But it now appears the patents were transferred to US company Surge Tech.
Since being granted the patents, Allotz has been put in receivership and people involved with the firm have been asked to appear before an examination by the Supreme Court of NSW equity division. The federal court has made orders on Allotz and its assets.
The saga’s players include Mr Mcconnachie, Collingwood AFL and Victorian lawyer and businessman Francis Galbally, ex-london-based businessman Warren Sinclair and Bangkok-based fundraiser Brayden Craig.
In 2020, Allotz engaged Mr Galbally’s Southbank Capital to secure funding to allow for the commercialisation of its patented invention.
Mr Galbally, also head of global cyber security firm Senetas, became chair and Mr Sinclair CEO of Allotz.
Receivers were appointed to Allotz in March 2021 and it went into voluntary administration and is now in liquidation. In a statutory report to creditors in April, Hall Chadwick w liquidator Sule Arnautovic estimated the value of the company’s assets as “nil”.
The report said he’d also asked for company records, proof of debts and done examinations of ex-directors Mr
Galbally and Mr Sinclair: “The company was issued a notice of warranty breaches and events of default by Southbank, which is/was disputed, leading to the appointment of Jim Downey as receiver and manager of the company on March 17, 2021, and the appointment of administrators.”
Mr Galbally and Mr Sinclair gave evidence to liquidators in the Supreme Court of NSW equity division in April and last month about Allotz going into receivership.
In the NSW examination, Mr Sinclair was asked if he was aware Southbank had become owner of the Allotz patents then transferred them to Surge Tech. Mr Sinclair replied “yes”. Mr Galbally told the examination Surge Tech held the Allotz patents as mortgagee in possession. He said Surge Tech wished to “exploit the patents if possible” but he had no knowledge if it was looking at selling them or enforcing them via legal action.
This week, Mr Galbally said he believed Allotz was insolvent at the time receivers were appointed after investors lost faith in it and withdrew funding.
“He’s raised millions from all sorts of people in Australia and eventually the funders no longer wanted to do that,” Mr Galbally said.
The examination, brought by liquidators Hall Chadwick at the request of Mr Mcconnachie, was adjourned and would be deemed concluded if witnesses were not notified in six months about a new date.
Hall Chadwick liquidator Sule Arnautovic will lodge an investigation report with ASIC. Questioning was on whether Allotz had the funds to meet debts and if it should have been put in receivership.
More questioning was on whether Allotz patents were transferred to Surge Tech, controlled by investors with Southbank Capital as trustee.