By Clyde Mooney
The listing of another 20 venues formerly run by the bankrupt National Leisure & Gaming (NLG) could mark the next strategic move by a set of New York investors looking to profit from Australia’s hospitality industry.
Receivers PPR Advisory was appointed by creditors to manage the liquidation, telling TheShout they were “working with NLG’s management team to better position the hotel portfolio for future success”.
After the purchase of National Leisure & Gaming’s (NLG) debt in June by the investor group, Goldman Sachs, York Capital and Värde Partners Inc, further credit extensions were blocked and the troubled pub operator tipped into receivership in October. But analysts have put doubt on whether the timing of the sale of 20 venues at once is truly in the interests of shareholders.
“The subsequent listing of another 20 venues this week will undoubtedly undermine the sale price of each asset,” one source told TheShout.
This will benefit the debt-holding investors looking to transform debt into equity and gain a foothold in Australia’s tight-knit hotel community.
The New York hedge funds also acquired 39 per cent of the senior debt of NLG’s landlord, Redcape Property Fund (RPF), which also teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.
RPF restrictions requiring a two-thirds majority mean that the hedge funds hold the balance of power and may yet be waiting until the opportune moment to send it down the same path as its tenant. A flood of property sales could allow the right investor to both own and operate some prime venues around the country.