JANUARY 27, 2015 \ NORTHERN.STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
(Shawn Smits)
A Screamin’ good time at the festival
Matt Powell and Steve Dundon and their band The Screamin’ Eagles will be among the star-studded line-up for this year’s Whittlesea Country Music Festival on February 6 and 7 at Whittlesea cricket grounds and secondary college. The two-day affair will also feature a street party, twilight concert, fireworks display and a headline performance by former Hunters and Collectors frontman and songwriter Mark Seymour. ■ Full story, page 8
Bitter sweet liquidation By Lexi Cottee Broadmeadows confectionery maker Betta Foods has gone into liquidation just three months after it was bought by British restructuring firm Hilco Capital. Accounting firm Cor Cordis was appointed voluntary administrators last Wednesday after debts in excess of $10 million were uncovered. Bruno Secatore, of Cor Cordis, conducted a meeting with Betta Foods’ 160 staff that morning, declaring that it was business as usual at the King William Street plant. “We were appointed administrators and are undertaking an assessment of the company’s
financial position,” Mr Secatore said. “In the meantime, the company is continuing to trade, so it will be business as usual while we meet with the company’s management, customers and suppliers.” The Betta Foods’ collapse mirrors that of fellow sweets manufacturer Ernest Hillier. The Preston-based chocolatier was bought by Hilco Capital’s international investment arm last February for $11 million and fell into liquidation just two weeks ago. The halls echoed inside Betta Foods’ Broadmeadows base last week. While the sweet smell of liquorice still hung in the air, there were few cars in the parking lot and the receptionist’s
desk had already been vacated. The company started in 1954 and has made a name for itself selling liquorice and marshmallow products under the Capricorn and Eskimo brands. Its distributors include Coles, Woolworths and ALDI and it has an annual revenue of $40 million, employing more than 160 people. In August 2013, Hume council gave Betta Foods – under the stewardship of former chief executive Alex Sloan – the green light to develop its landholdings along King William Street, on the eastern side of the Pascoe Vale Road railway tracks and Broadmeadows central. The plan was to build 560 new apartments, almost 4000 square metres of retail space and
a further 15,000 square metres for offices, varying in height between two and 10 storeys. However, the plan has languished ever since. Hume council defended issuing the permit last week. The council’s city sustainability director, Kelvin Walsh, said the council had a range of programs in place supporting job creation and to help local people access local jobs when jobs were lost. Australian Manufacturers Workers Union assistant regional secretary for food and confectionery Jason Hefford said Betta Foods’ first creditors meeting revealed debts in excess of $10 million. He said the union was confidant staff would get their entitlements.
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