Salter Brothers allegedly ‘conspired’ to avoid Verrency loan repayment

Verrency, then based in Singapore, borrowed the money from ML Norwood, a company controlled by Mrs Link, in 2021 as it tried to raise fresh money from investors. As part of a capital raise that year led by Salter Brothers, Verrency, under Mr Link’s leadership, transferred its legal home to Australia via a restructuring. The Singaporean entity remained with the loan.

Mr Link, who declined to comment, left the company in August last year.

Salter Brothers, formed in 2014, owns stakes in luxury tourism properties and positions in technology stocks. It also helps wealthy foreigners move to Australia through the significant investor visa program.

ML Norwood’s lawsuit claims that Verrency tried to raise capital and failed but rapidly found a buyer for its assets: Salter Brothers.

Norwood’s filings with the Singaporean courts, seen by The Australian Financial Review, claim that the effect of that process was to “effectively and systematically strip” Verrency’s Singaporean entity of assets, benefitting the new Salter Brother’s controlled company, and leaving the loan unpaid.

“Verrency will defend the claim, based on our view, in both Australia and Singapore, that it is spurious and baseless,” said Verrency’s spokesman, Warwick Ponder. “The Singapore judge has already questioned the claim on a conceptual basis, including jurisdiction of the claim.”

Salter Brothers’ spokesman said the firm was not a party to the claim in Singapore. “The defendants have filed a notice to contest and will vigorously defend the claim,” he said. Those defendants include a Salter Brothers staffer and a company majority-owned by the firm.

He noted Mr Link had previously agreed to extend the loan repayments when he was at Verrency and that the restructure had been approved by shareholders after an independent expert report was commissioned. He said creditors in the Singaporean entity were likely to receive shares in the Australian entity after a restructuring process.

Other start-ups that aim to deliver data on consumer purchases have made limited progress. Slyp, a start-up that aims to automatically put digital receipts in banking apps, is missing data from many larger retailers and only works with one of the big banks, despite all of them having invested.

Verrency defended the company’s technology, saying its carbon estimation calculator was independently accredited and provided insights into a consumer’s emissions based on expenditure, product category and merchant type.

“Our new carbon offset estimation capability is now being offered by a global card company to banks across [several] regions in more than 100 markets,” the company said in a statement. “It has already been rolled out by a major Asian bank, with another two following very shortly, and 22 more in negotiation to go live over the coming year and beyond.”

Mr Ponder, Verrency’s spokesman, said parties involved in due diligence on Verrency’s current funding round were aware of the litigation. He said all Verrency creditors were treated equally in the restructure, and major creditors were supportive.

“A smaller creditor, ML Norwood, is now seeking preferential treatment outside the formal process in relation to its unsecured loan, which is not in the best interests of other creditors or investors,” Mr Ponder said.

Kyle Gabriel Peters, a partner at Braddell Brothers that is representing ML Norwood, declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal dispute.