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The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Singapore's Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges S$14mil lost from misconduct, poor decisions
SINGAPORE: The legal battle over control of home-grown hospitality group Tipsy Collective has taken another turn. The company – now led by its majority shareholders, who gained control after a boardroom shake-up in 2024 – has filed a lawsuit against its former leadership, seeking to recover more than S$14 million in losses and damages from a string of alleged wrongful payments, mismanagement and unauthorised deletions of company records. In its statement of claim filed on June 12, the plaintiffs – Tipsy Collective and three of its subsidiaries (Tipsy Bird, Social Room Concepts and Tipsy Collective Singapore) – are alleging breaches of fiduciary and contractual duties by three former directors, David Gan Jia Liang, Derek Ong and Reuben Low Kok Cherng, and former human resources manager Avril Lim Qian Jun. Gan, who was the former chief executive of the group, founded Tipsy Collective with Ong in 2019. Following internal disputes, the bloc of investors and shareholders who oppose Gan has increased its collective stake from 59.39 per cent to 97.3 per cent, according to the latest shareholder records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Gan currently owns 1.66 per cent of the company's shares, and Low holds 1.03 per cent. As Ong died in August 2023, his wife, Melody Huang Bao'er, who is the administrator of his estate, was named as the second defendant in the lawsuit. This new lawsuit follows an earlier court battle reported by The Straits Times in September 2024, in which Gan had sued eight parties – including investors and shareholders – claiming they had breached a shareholders' agreement and tried to unlawfully seize control of the company. The defendants – Indonesian investors Reino Ramaputra Barack and Santosa Kadiman, Singaporean Rudy Hartono Widjaja and four shareholder entities – rejected Gan's claims. Instead, they pointed to alleged financial mismanagement under his leadership. They cited mounting debts and lack of financial transparency, and questioned the $6 million spent developing Tipsy Unicorn beach club in Sentosa. They claimed Gan had caused the company to take out $8.7 million in loans, of which $6 million remained outstanding, and that the company owed $5.2 million to suppliers and nearly $1 million to Sentosa Development Corporation. Gan failed to get an interim injunction to retain control of the company's board and subsequently lost his lawsuit against the investors and shareholders. On Nov 6, 2024, the board terminated his role as chief executive and removed Low as director. On the same day, Barack was appointed the chairman of the board of directors of Tipsy Collective. Gan resigned from the board on Nov 15, 2024, while Lim's last day with the company was Nov 17 of the same year. By December 2024, the financial toll of the leadership struggle had affected ground operations. More than 100 employees had faced delays in salary payments since October 2024. The company managed to settle overdue Central Provident Fund contributions and salaries only after four shareholders injected emergency funding. The group, which once operated 13 outlets, has since scaled down. At least four outlets have been shut since October 2024, and it is now left with five outlets. Now, led by its new management, Tipsy Collective is turning the tables on its former leadership with this latest suit. The first set of allegations involves unauthorised payments made. The plaintiffs allege that Gan and Ong caused the companies to transfer more than $4.2 million to themselves and Low, or between entities, without justification. These included $1.49 million in payments, made in December 2020, and $2.8 million disbursed between June 2020 and May 2024. The suit alleged that the payments had no commercial justification and brought no benefit to the companies, and that the three former directors failed to recover the funds, causing significant losses to the group. The lawsuit also cited a string of poor business decisions that allegedly harmed the group financially. The development of Tipsy Unicorn – a 19,000 sq ft beach club on Sentosa's Siloso Beach that opened in September 2023 – is at the centre of these claims. The construction cost of the project ballooned from $4 million to more than $6.1 million due to lack of due diligence and planning. Court documents also noted that the claimants did not have sufficient resources to undertake the construction of Tipsy Unicorn. Despite the fact that Tipsy Collective was 'in financial difficulties and needed monies from shareholders to sustain its operations', Gan and Ong allegedly continued to undertake more projects, the court documents noted. Another alleged mishap flagged in court documents was the group's investment in Tipsy Flamingo Malaysia. The plaintiffs claimed the venture led to a loss of more than $1.3 million. The renewal of leases for underperforming outlets, such as Tipsy Penguin, Tipsy Bunny and Tipsy Flamingo, was also highlighted. These new leases apparently involved higher rents and service charges, further straining the group's finances. The lawsuit further accused Gan and Lim of destroying and withholding company records. Gan allegedly deleted more than 4,000 files from the company's Google Drive and continued accessing company systems without authorisation after his departure. Lim is alleged to have erased nearly 5,000 files and formatted her company-issued laptop, erasing all stored data. Both of them are being held liable for damages linked to the data loss, with the plaintiffs also seeking an injunction to prevent Gan from using any confidential company information that may have been retained. Separately, the Ministry of Law's website showed Gan was declared bankrupt on June 19, in proceedings separate from the civil suit. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions
Find out what's new on ST website and app. This new lawsuit follows an earlier court battle reported by ST in September 2024. SINGAPORE – The legal battle over control of home-grown hospitality group Tipsy Collective has taken another turn. The company – now led by its majority shareholders, who gained control after a boardroom shake-up in 2024 – has filed a lawsuit against its former leadership, seeking to recover more than $14 million in losses and damages from a string of alleged wrongful payments, mismanagement and unauthorised deletions of company records. In its statement of claim filed on June 12, the plaintiffs – Tipsy Collective and three of its subsidiaries (Tipsy Bird, Social Room Concepts and Tipsy Collective Singapore) – are alleging breaches of fiduciary and contractual duties by three former directors, David Gan Jia Liang, Derek Ong and Reuben Low Kok Cherng, and former human resources manager Avril Lim Qian Jun. Mr Gan, who was the former chief executive of the group, founded Tipsy Collective with Mr Ong in 2019. Following internal disputes, the bloc of investors and shareholders who oppose Mr Gan has increased its collective stake from 59.39 per cent to 97.3 per cent, according to the latest shareholder records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Mr Gan currently owns 1.66 per cent of the company's shares, and Mr Low holds 1.03 per cent. As Mr Ong died in August 2023, his wife, Ms Melody Huang Bao'er, who is the administrator of his estate, was named as the second defendant in the lawsuit. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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The defendants – Indonesian investors Reino Ramaputra Barack and Santosa Kadiman, Singaporean Rudy Hartono Widjaja and four shareholder entities – rejected Mr Gan's claims. Instead, they pointed to alleged financial mismanagement under his leadership. They cited mounting debts and lack of financial transparency, and questioned the $6 million spent developing Tipsy Unicorn beach club in Sentosa. They claimed Mr Gan had caused the company to take out $8.7 million in loans, of which $6 million remained outstanding, and that the company owed $5.2 million to suppliers and nearly $1 million to Sentosa Development Corporation. Mr Gan failed to get an interim injunction to retain control of the company's board and subsequently lost his lawsuit against the investors and shareholders. On Nov 6, 2024, the board terminated his role as chief executive and removed Mr Low as director. On the same day, Mr Barack was appointed the chairman of the board of directors of Tipsy Collective. Mr Gan resigned from the board on Nov 15, 2024, while Ms Lim's last day with the company was Nov 17 of the same year. By December 2024, the financial toll of the leadership struggle had affected ground operations. More than 100 employees had faced delays in salary payments since October 2024. The company managed to settle overdue Central Provident Fund contributions and salaries only after four shareholders injected emergency funding. The group, which once operated 13 outlets, has since scaled down. At least four outlets have been shut since October 2024, and it is now left with five outlets. Now, led by its new management, Tipsy Collective is turning the tables on its former leadership with this latest suit. The first set of allegations involves unauthorised payments made. The plaintiffs allege that Mr Gan and Mr Ong caused the companies to transfer more than $4.2 million to themselves and Mr Low, or between entities, without justification. These included $1.49 million in payments, made in December 2020, and $2.8 million disbursed between June 2020 and May 2024. The suit alleged that the payments had no commercial justification and brought no benefit to the companies, and that the three former directors failed to recover the funds, causing significant losses to the group. The lawsuit also cited a string of poor business decisions that allegedly harmed the group financially. The development of Tipsy Unicorn – a 19,000 sq ft beach club on Sentosa's Siloso Beach that opened in September 2023 – is at the centre of these claims. The construction cost of the project ballooned from $4 million to more than $6.1 million due to lack of due diligence and planning. Court documents also noted that the claimants did not have sufficient resources to undertake the construction of Tipsy Unicorn. Despite the fact that Tipsy Collective was 'in financial difficulties and needed monies from shareholders to sustain its operations', Mr Gan and Mr Ong allegedly continued to undertake more projects, the court documents noted. Another alleged mishap flagged in court documents was the group's investment in Tipsy Flamingo Malaysia. The plaintiffs claimed the venture led to a loss of more than $1.3 million. The renewal of leases for underperforming outlets, such as Tipsy Penguin, Tipsy Bunny and Tipsy Flamingo, was also highlighted. These new leases apparently involved higher rents and service charges, further straining the group's finances. The lawsuit further accused Mr Gan and Ms Lim of destroying and withholding company records. Mr Gan allegedly deleted more than 4,000 files from the company's Google Drive and continued accessing company systems without authorisation after his departure. Ms Lim is alleged to have erased nearly 5,000 files and formatted her company-issued laptop, erasing all stored data. Both of them are being held liable for damages linked to the data loss, with the plaintiffs also seeking an injunction to prevent Mr Gan from using any confidential company information that may have been retained. Separately, the Ministry of Law's website showed Mr Gan was declared a bankrupt on June 19, in proceedings separate from the civil suit.
Sunday World
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Why Bed by 10pm is the hottest new trend on the social scene
'Customers of that age group can feel confident going out that they won't be surrounded by young people.' Belfast is getting its first Bed by 10pm event next month with a strictly over-30s clientele. The brand has taken hold across the world with partygoers who used to dance the night away now dancing away the early evening and getting home in time for the news. And the Tipsy Bird summer party may be the first opportunity in years for anyone over the age of 30 to be ID'd says event co-ordinator for Like It Love It Louis Williamson. 'With the state of the world at the moment people need somewhere to escape, and there are not a lot of places where people of a certain age group can feel they're not the oldest person in the room,' he says. Bed by 10pm launches in Belfast this summer 'Customers of that age group can feel confident going out that they won't be surrounded by young people.' The Bed by 10pm brand, launched last August, is part of the Like It Love It party group which hires venues and provides entertainment. Its slogan for the over-30s parties is 'because adults have stuff to do tomorrow'. Last year saw an explosion in entertainment aimed at ravers who aren't ready to hang up their glow sticks. Line of Duty star Vicky McClure had previously probed the power of music in TV documentary Our Dementia Choir when her husband, filmmaker Jonny Owen suggested daytime raves for a 30-plus audience. Their Day Fever events have now toured the UK and are currently on the road again. Vicky McClure "We've had some really memorable pivotal moments, we have had wedding proposals, we've had people facing really tough times, like a woman in Dublin facing a brain tumour and she wanted to immerse herself and forget what she was going through for a bit,' says Vicky. Dublin nightclub SoHo started hosting over-35s Saturday afternoons last August, which finish at 10pm, and have been a huge success. In Belfast an over-35s rave in Custom House Square last summer sold out in less than an hour. The Bed by 10pm brand is launching in Northern Ireland with a 1pm to 5pm summer party spin-off at the venue in Ann Street in Belfast on May 17, and Louis promises there will be more to come. Usually the parties start at 4pm and run until 9pm, promising patrons can be at home and tucked up in bed by ten. Bed by 10pm is coming to Belfast 'This event in Belfast is a spin-off with a rooftop vibe for a summer audience to catch the sun,' says Louis. 'Our plan is to bring a longer Bed by 10pm event to Belfast.' The daytime party for the over-30s has been one of the biggest successes for the international events company. 'Our first run of events launched in Australia back in August. We're now operating in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, we've just launched in America and we're looking at South Africa,' he says. 'The feedback has been great. Everyone loves it and the sales speak for themselves. 'We'll be back with a lot more dates and we constantly have people from cities we haven't been to asking us to come. 'The growth has been crazy and in less than a year we are operating globally. 'We're also launching a spin-off Bed by 10pm Festival, and the first event will be held this year in London.' While there is a minimum age he assures party fans there is no maximum age. One reveller in Australia got in touch to ask if having a bus pass made her past it. 'We had a message from a lady in her late seventies asking if she was too old. 'Anyone is welcome above the age of 30,' he says. And the coordinator says you're never too young to feel old. 'As someone who is not 30 yet I get it myself. I'll go into a club and feel like an old man, and I'm not,' he says.
