BRC Capital faces crunch as investments including Hiro Brands fail
BRC Capital, a major investor in technology companies and real estate, is facing questions about its solvency after four subsidiaries were wound up in the last month, adding to financial pressure dogging the Melbourne Rebels.
The investment company is a key sponsor of the Super Rugby club, one of five in the league, and its chairman, Paul Docherty, also chairs the Rebels.
Four of BRC Capital’s investments – 3DMediTech, Hiro Brands, Aware Environmental, and HoodAI – have been placed into administration or issued with wind-up orders over the last four weeks.
Rebels chairman Paul Docherty (left), alongside Rebels head coach Kevin Foote (centre) and chief executive Baden Stephenson (right).
Directors of some BRC Capital investments have received penalty notices from the Australian Taxation Office, alerting them to the non-payment of tax over a period of several years.
Rebels insiders are questioning the solvency of the football club, which The Australian Financial Review revealed last week was struggling to pay its tax bills and was behind on stadium fees. Sources said the ATO had also issued penalty notices to the club’s directors over failures to make payments – a move that could later lead to administration.
Mr Docherty said BRC Capital would maintain its sponsorship of the Rebels, but did not answer questions regarding the director notices that suggest tax liabilities could range from $100,000 to millions of dollars.
“Capital markets are hard everywhere,” Mr Docherty said, of the collapse of several of his companies. “It is all unrelated to the Rebels.”
The Rebels board has eight directors: Georgia Widdup, the daughter of former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford; Tim North; Treasury Wine Estates board member Lyndsey Cattermole; Gary Gray; Owain Stone; Neil Hay; and Dominic Shipperley, a former player.
The Rebels share some directors with Mr Docherty’s companies.
HoodAI, which pivoted from helping customers move house to using artificial evidence to find utility connections, secured a $16 million facility in 2021. REA Group is an investor, as is the wealthy Myer family, Ms Cattermole, and Pat Davies, the former chief executive of EBOS.
HoodAI was placed into administration in November, and has been embroiled in a payment dispute with a contractor.
Hiro Brands, which manufactures cosmetics, last booked a $50 million valuation in 2020. It had a high-profile board that included former Myer chairman Garry Hounsell and Ms Cattermole. After a failed tilt at the ASX boards in 2022, it was on track to hit $70 million in revenue this year, the Financial Review’s Street Talk column reported. McGrathNicol had also been tasked with finding a strategic minority investor. But in November, Hiro was wound up after it failed to pay bills owed to one of its contractors.
3DMediTech, which has been awaiting approval for its 3D-printed COVID-19 tests, banked $6.1 million in 2020. It was declared insolvent in November.
Aware Environmental, a manufacturing company, has also been wound up.
BRC has an array of other investments. The Financial Review reported last year that it had purchased a large inner-city Melbourne site and estimated the project could create a $600 million development in a precinct earmarked for health and biomedical innovation.
Introducing your Newsfeed
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.
Find out moreRead More
Latest In Technology
Fetching latest articles