Latest news with #Brisbane-based
Herald Sun
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Herald Sun
Peter Stevens dealerships close in Geelong, Ringwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Two major Victorian motorcycle dealerships closed at the weekend following the collapse of the Melbourne-based Peter Stevens retail group. The stores and showrooms at Peter Stevens Geelong and Ringwood have not been sold and have shut permanently, administrators KordaMentha said. And the City Triumph dealership which closed its West Melbourne showroom earlier this year will also not return. The stores could not be saved although a large portion of the business has been taken over, securing 250 jobs. Dozens of staff at the Peter Stevens sites at Mercer St, Geelong, and Maroondah Highway, Ringwood were only told on Friday of the closure. And customers have been left in the dark over parts and accessories orders. Triumph rider Richard Farrar ordered a $500 part from the Peter Stevens Geelong store but has no idea what's happened to his money. 'They obviously knew they were in trouble when I ordered … and it's bordering on obtaining my money deceptively,'' he said. Peter Stevens went into voluntary administration last month saddled with debt, and last week it emerged that creditors faced losses of over $65m including millions in customer deposits. The company was founded by the Chiodo brothers – Vince, Peter and Steve – in 1970 and grew into a national network of motorcycle stores and dealerships. Flagging motorcycle sales and the cost of living crisis has hit the industry hard in recent years. Some parts of the Peter Stevens group have now been taken over by private company Joe Rascal Group and ASX-listed MotorCycle Holdings. The Joe Rascal Group has will acquire the Harley Heaven stores at Dandenong, Ringwood and Melbourne, as well as Ducati South Melbourne. And Brisbane-based MotorCycle Holdings will take over the Peter Stevens Dandenong and Adelaide sites as well as Savage Motorcycles in Perth and the Harley Heaven dealerships in Sydney, Penrith, Perth and Adelaide. MotorCycle Holdings chief executive Matthew Wiesner said the company would maintain the Peter Stevens and Harley Heaven brands. The deals would mean about 250 employees would keep their jobs, Craig Shepard of KordaMentha said. The administrators said it would assist employees from the closed locations 'during the transition to closure'.
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Hundreds of jobs at risk as Australian transport company XL Express appoints FTI Consulting as voluntary administrator
About 200 jobs are at risk as a Brisbane-based transport and logistics company has brought in voluntary administrators after 35 years in business. XL Express appointed FTI Consulting to conduct an 'urgent assessment' of the company's viability. The Queensland-headquartered company offers transport services for an array of consumer and business customers across the country. On its website, XL Express said it delivers to retail stores, all major distribution centres and residential locations across the nation. It also boasts of a 'national network', which includes its parcel sortation systems and technology that allows package tracking. 'We're a business that's built on the challenger model,' the company's website states. 'We're here to disrupt the status quo and think harder and act smarter for our clients and their businesses.' Despite the company's bold service promises, it has sank into administration. FTI Consulting's Kelly Trenfield, Joanne Dunn and Ross Blakeley have been appointed the voluntary administrators of XL Express and more than 15 other entities under the company's brand from Friday. These include a litany of subsidiaries that cover XL Express' linehaul services, logistics, distribution and more. The administrators will look into XL Express' financial position and provide a report to creditors on the future of the company. The first meeting of creditors will be held before 9 July 2025, FTI Consulting said. FTI Consulting also noted that alternative arrangements will be made for XL Express customers who are impacted by the company entering voluntary administration. 'Where services are unable to be fulfilled, arrangements are being made for customers to collect their goods held in XL Express Group distribution centres,' it said. It remains unclear what led to XL Express falling into administration. The company's collapse follows it establishing a partnership with the Brisbane Lions between 2020 and 2022. XL Express's logo featured on the front of the AFL team's jersey, while the Lions logo was seen on the company's trucks. When revealing the partnership in 2019, XL Express' managing director Colin Mallory said his company was excited to launch the partnership. 'We share similar journeys in that we are both based in Queensland and compete on the national stage,' Mr Mallory said. 'We look forward to sharing in the successes that this partnership will bring to both of our organisations.' XL Express' collapse comes as recent data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission showed almost 7,000 businesses in New South Wales collapsed from July 2024 to May 2025. This marks a 26 per cent increase from the previous year. More than 5,100 businesses collapsed in Victoria, while 3,264 went under in Queensland, 1,217 failed in Western Australia and 815 tanked in South Australia.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Up-market hotels take luxury living to a high-rise level
Capital Gain Australia's largest hotel operator, Accor, will brand a Burleigh Heads apartment building that has sweeping views of Surfers Paradise under its luxury Mondrian marque. Buying a home connected to a favourite or upmarket hotel brand is becoming more common. Owners in the apartment building will be able to call on the hotel's room service or concierge, and use its full suite of amenities. Taking advantage of the trend, Accor has launched its high-end Mondrian Residence apartments on the Gold Coast offering owners in the building access to the adjoining international five-star Mondrian Gold Coast hotel. Speaking on the Gold Coast before an Accor leaders summit, executives Jean-Jacques Morin, Duncan O'Rourke and Adrian Williams, overseeing the Pacific region, said branded residences are gaining traction and more are being ear-marked across Australia. Loading Williams said developers and buyers recognise the lifestyle and investment benefits of the branded residence concept, which are now benchmarks for the hotel sector. Developers can add a premium to the price of their apartments, knowing buyers will pay more for a home in a tower named after a well-known, up-market brand. The $400 million Gold Coast development covers 4037 square metres of prime beachfront land at Burleigh Heads at the southern end of the Gold Coast. The complex consists of two towers, one housing a 208-room hotel which opened in early June, and the other a complex of 89 luxury residential apartments which are all sold. It was developed by the Brisbane-based Vitale Projects.
The Age
6 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Up-market hotels take luxury living to a high-rise level
Capital Gain Australia's largest hotel operator, Accor, will brand a Burleigh Heads apartment building that has sweeping views of Surfers Paradise under its luxury Mondrian marque. Buying a home connected to a favourite or upmarket hotel brand is becoming more common. Owners in the apartment building will be able to call on the hotel's room service or concierge, and use its full suite of amenities. Taking advantage of the trend, Accor has launched its high-end Mondrian Residence apartments on the Gold Coast offering owners in the building access to the adjoining international five-star Mondrian Gold Coast hotel. Speaking on the Gold Coast before an Accor leaders summit, executives Jean-Jacques Morin, Duncan O'Rourke and Adrian Williams, overseeing the Pacific region, said branded residences are gaining traction and more are being ear-marked across Australia. Loading Williams said developers and buyers recognise the lifestyle and investment benefits of the branded residence concept, which are now benchmarks for the hotel sector. Developers can add a premium to the price of their apartments, knowing buyers will pay more for a home in a tower named after a well-known, up-market brand. The $400 million Gold Coast development covers 4037 square metres of prime beachfront land at Burleigh Heads at the southern end of the Gold Coast. The complex consists of two towers, one housing a 208-room hotel which opened in early June, and the other a complex of 89 luxury residential apartments which are all sold. It was developed by the Brisbane-based Vitale Projects.
The Star
6 days ago
- Health
- The Star
No more getting sick to diagnose coeliac disease
Coeliac disease requires patients to completely avoid foods containing gluten, while a gluten intolerance usually allows some leeway. – dpa Diagnosing coeliac disease has long been an arduous and daunting process in which people thought to have the condition have to eat wheat – the very food that will make them sick if the concerns prove true. But a new 'game changer' method could make running the gluten gauntlet a thing of the past, according to developers at Australia's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Victoria and Brisbane-based Novoviah Pharmaceuticals. They claim their 'world-first' blood test can diagnose the disease even among people who switch to gluten-free diets as a precaution. Published in the medical journal Gastroenterology , the team's work details how 'gluten-specific T-cells can detect coeliac disease, even when no gluten has been eaten'. Not only could the new test pinpoint who could be 'at risk of severe reactions to gluten', it raises the prospect of preemptive detection of 'silent' disease among those who are asymptomatic. Around 80% of potential cases worldwide could be going undiagnosed, according to the researchers, who pointed out that 'many people are deterred from seeking a definite diagnosis because they do not want to consume gluten and be sick'. 'This new test promises to simplify and speed up accurate diagnosis, while also avoiding the suffering that comes with eating gluten for extended periods to reactivate coeliac disease,' said WEHI consultant gastroenterologist Associate Professor Dr Jason Tye-Din. 'This breakthrough is deeply personal as it could spare others from the gruelling diagnostic process I had to endure,' said WEHI PhD student Olivia Moscatelli, a member of the research team who was confirmed to have coeliac disease when she was 18. An immune reaction to the gluten protein found in wheat, rye and barley, coeliac disease damages the intestine and prevents sufferers from absorbing nutrients, with some estimates suggesting that it could affect one in 100 people worldwide. – dpa
