GMG not as solid as a rock
Creditors owed but properties sold off
PROPERTIES owned by stone benchtop industry heavyweight Pantaleone Galea were sold to his manager-son just months before he applied to wind up his company over millions of dollars of unpaid debt.
Malta-born Pantaleone Galea opted for a creditors’ voluntary liquidation – which is where a company cannot pay its creditors in full and is insolvent – of GMG Stone Pty Ltd on March 21.
Southport-based GMG Stone, which had more than 70 staff, supplied marble, granite and reconstituted stone to the building and renovator markets. It was managed by Pantaleone Galea’s son Mathew Galea and installed kitchen benchtops at some of the Gold Coast’s most luxurious highrise projects, including Soul, Circle on Cavill and the Hilton hotel in Surfers Paradise.
A report prepared by liquidators Tracy Knight and Damien Lau, of Bentleys, earlier this month estimated debts of $1.7 million, with the largest amounts owed to the Australian Tax Office ($1.2 million) and WorkCover Queensland ($192,000). The company’s assets were listed at just $105,009.
Company records show Mathew Galea registered the name of MJG Stone Pty Ltd, which now operates from the former GMG Stone premises, on September 25 last year.
Less than two weeks later, and four months before the application to wind up GMG Stone, properties at 188 Nerang St and 3 Anne St were sold by Pantaleone Galea to a company linked to Mathew Galea for $3.5 million, which is believed to be market value. The new owner of the properties is Anne Street Holdings, of which Mathew Galea is an equal shareholder with Ryan Manthey.
The 3263sq m 188 Nerang St property hosted the main GMG factory with the second neighbouring factory located at 3 Anne St.
The Nerang St property was acquired by Pantaleone Galea for $682,666 in 2001 and prior to that had been home to United Marble Products, of which Pantaleone Galea was a director.
United Marble worked on the Palazzo Versace hotel project in Main Beach in 2000 and later went into receivership.
Property records show another asset linked to Pantaleone Galea, a single-storey house at 536 Marine Pde, Biggera Waters, was also sold last year – this time for $1.325 million to an unrelated company.
The liquidators’ report for GMG Stone Pty Ltd lists four other related companies also placed into liquidation comprising GMG Victoria Holdings Pty Ltd, GMG Toowoomba Pty Ltd, Galea Marble & Granite Industries Pty Ltd and GMG Wholesale Pty Ltd.
GMG had operations in Melbourne and Toowoomba prior to going into liquidation.
Creditors listed for GMG Stone include St Vincent de Paul Society ($8231), Ormeaubased SuperKote Glass ($5205.41), National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd ($17,979.40) and Ashmorebased Get Vacced Vacuum Excavation ($3197.70) as well as 35 others.
There are 107 creditors listed for Galea Marble & Granite Industries Pty Ltd, which was first registered by Pantaleone Galea in 1979.
Creditors include Southport-based Zoo Creative ($2988.98), The Faultless
Stone Trust ($21,405), MainFreight International ($23,984.31) and Nerang-based MRW Consulting Services ($7714). The business is estimated to be in deficit by $1.644 million.
Bentleys is proceeding with the liquidation of the companies, including the recovery and sale of property, investigating the affairs of the companies, reporting to ASIC and distributing available funds to creditors.
GMG HAD OPERATIONS IN MELBOURNE AND TOOWOOMBA PRIOR TO GOING INTO LIQUIDATION
Mathew Galea did not return calls yesterday while Pantaleone Galea could not be reached.
The liquidation of the company, once described as Australia’s largest dedicated stone benchtop manufacturer, comes as the stone-cutting industry deals with a silicosis crisis.
Gold Coast man Anthony White lost his battle with the disease, which is caused by breathing dust from cutting concrete, sandstone, stone and other materials containing fragments of crystalline silica, last month. Mr White did not have any connection to the GMG or MJG businesses.