EXCLUSIVE: A second valuation of the troubled Leisuretech group has revealed that it is worth considerable more than the $2M claimed by CEO Andrew Goldfinch and Accountant Jonathan Rich who are accused of engineering the collapse of the consumer electronics and home automation company earlier this year in their best interests.
According to George Dexter, the CEO of the UK Armour Group, who is one of the major creditors of the failed company, the original valuation of Leisuretech, who claim to own the patent to the A Bus automation system, did not include several assets and the valuation was deliberately engineered by Goldfinch and Rich in an effort to avoid the paying out of creditors.
The valuation was used by Rich and Goldfinch to buy the assets of the old company while dumping $2M in liabilities with two UK Companies. Ironically, the creditors that were needed for the new company to continue trading were paid out by Leisuretech prior to being placed into administration.
Dexter said “We have obtained a new valuation of Leisuretech and it values the company at considerably more than what Goldfinch and Rich’s valuation came to. We know that key assets and information were not disclosed for the original valuation and even now both Rich and Goldfinch have tried to restrict what we have access to. A second creditors meeting is due later this month so it will be interesting to see whether Rich and Goldfinch actually turn up”.
Armour claim that the actions of Leisuretech in bankrupting the company were deliberate and the sale of LTE’s assets, business and goodwill to AC & EM G Pty Limited, a company that now trades as Leisuretech with the same directors as the old company, was engineered and specifically designed to “hurt” creditors while benefitting Rich and Goldfinch.
According to the Armour Group both Goldfinch and Rich have “deliberately” made it difficult to obtain a second valuation but despite the lack of certain documentation, accountants have already established that the company was worth “considerably more” than what was in the original valuation which was prepared by Lawler and Partners, a company that had had previous dealings with accountant and Leisuretech shareholder Jonathan Rich.
Also struggling to get access to company information, assets as well as information on royalties earned from the A Bus patents is Sydney based administrator Brian Allen of Burton Glenn and Allen.
Allen told ChannelNews that he was concerned that he did not have a great deal of information relating to the company.
“There are several documents relating to Leisuretech that we have asked for but have not seen. These documents would allow us to form a better picture of the true nature of the company” said Brian Allen.
Allen has admitted that he has already been visited by legal representatives from Clayton Utz and Phillips Fox who represents UK based company Armour to whom Leisuretech lost their High Court appeal and UK legal firm Allen & Ogilvy who are owed over $600,000 in legal fees. Between them these two companies are owed over $1.5M dollars following Leisuretech’s loss in the British Courts.
