Investment opportunities like this certainly don’t come around very often, I tell you what my friends. The Australian arm of America’s premiere source of entirely ok chicken wings and PG-rated titillation Hooters is formally back on the market once again, after being placed into the hands of administrators for the second time in just over two years.
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Hooters Australia‘s future is currently up in the air after after administrators Veritas Advisory took the company over, according to documents filed with the corporate regulator last Wednesday.
The local arm of the globally known American sports bar chain has struggled to get a foothold in Australia ever since it arrived in 2006, with the company’s unique brand of customer service and experience simply not catching on with punters in the southern hemisphere for one reason or another.
Initially, the company entered administration in 2015 amid spiralling losses. American restaurant chain Chanticleer Holdings then stepped in to rescue the Australian operations of Hooters, but made an abrupt about-face in 2016 and withdrew itself from the country. In the process, it sold off 80% of the company to minority owner and local chairman Sydney Borg for a reported $9 million. Borg, at the time, vowed to turn Hooters Australia around, “clean it up,” and expand to new locations. None of which has happened.
Borg, would you even believe, is currently overseas and has not responded to any media request for comment. Wonders never cease.
Currently, Hooters Australia employs some 120 people across locations in Parramatta, Penrith, Campbelltown, and its flagship location on the Gold Coast.
In a statement, Veritas Advisory asserted that the company was very much “up for sale,” and that during the administration period – estimated to last two months – it would remain business as usual.
Hooters has been placed into voluntary administration in order to give the company some ‘breathing space’ and help the owner reassess the business and his involvement moving forward.
So there you have it, mates. An opportunity on a silver platter, albeit on stained with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
‘Course the first order of business, should you win the day, might be to pay the web hosting bill. The Hooters Australia website appears to have caved in under all the extra attention.
Get at it while the gettin’s good.
