The founder of collapsed financial services company Elderslie Finance, Peter George, has filed for personal bankruptcy with debts of $10 million.
According to a report in The Australian, George has eight creditors, including law firm Clayton Utz, accountants MGI Melbourne and Nigel Purves, an entrepreneur who was touted as a potential buyer of Elderslie.
Elderslie Finance collapsed in July 2008 with debts of $400 million. Former Liberal leader John Hewson was chairman of the company until one month before Perpetual Trustees launched legal action against Elderslie, leading to its collapse.
George, who acquired Elderslie in 1994 for around $3 million, received $97 million in loans from Elderslie between June 2007 and its collapse.
PwC receiver Greg Hall said last year most of those loans were “substantially irrecoverable”.
The receivers of Elderslie, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, conducted public examinations into the company’s collapse in August last year.
The proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court focussed on Elderslie’s auditors, Trood Pratt & Co.
Last October, a NSW District Court ordered George to pay over $273,000 owed to Clayton Utz.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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