In another run of bad luck, Damien Griffiths, previous owner of the Doughnut Time business, has had his Alfred & Constance and Limes Hotels placed on the market by receivers.
The two Fortitude Valley hotels were placed into receivership in January, with the Alfred & Constance pub closing at that time.
Limes Hotel, an award-winning Alexander Lotersztain designed four-star boutique hotel, opened a decade ago. It comprises 21 guest rooms and a rooftop bar featuring two plunge pools. Alfred & Constance is a pub business that incorporates two adjacent buildings, and includes a beer garden, restaurant, café and nightclub.
As first reported by News Corp, receivership for both venues was due to a court case brought against Griffiths by his aunt and cousin, who are part owners in the Limes Hotel.
Griffiths had been late in making a payment to the pair for buying their stake in the hotel. While that instalment was later paid, as it was not paid on time it triggered a clause in their agreement that then required the total sum of the debt to be paid immediately.
This is the second stroke of bad fortune for Griffiths this year, with businessman having to close two of 23 of his 30 Doughnut Time venues across Australia and the UK, and selling the remaining business to the former CEO of the company, Dan Strachotta. Griffiths admitted that he had expanded the business too quickly, while also operating the two hotels.
Receivers Anthony Connelly and Jamie Harris of McGrathNicol have made both hotels available for sale. They will be sold individually via international expressions of interest campaigns.