ASIC has disqualified Ms Nicola Fay Mills of Kenthurst, New South Wales from managing corporations for one and a half years.

Ms Mills was a director of five failed companies, namely:

• Happy Tribe Pty Ltd (ACN 159 171 098);
• Sushi Blue Holdings Pty Ltd (ACN 169 753 208);
• Go Sushi (Corporate) Pty Ltd (ACN 106 006 919);
• Go Pacific Retail Pty Ltd (ACN 106 440 199); and
• Sushi Tribe Pty Ltd Pty Ltd (ACN 105 738 010).

The companies were involved in franchising and the retail food industry.

In making its decision, ASIC found that:

• The companies under Ms Mills’ management were wound up with significant debts;
• In relation to Go Sushi (Corporate) Pty Ltd, those debts stemmed from Ms Mills’ management failures; and
• In relation to the other four companies, the debts stemmed from a further failure to undertake proper due diligence.

In making its decision to disqualify Ms Mills, ASIC relied on supplementary reports lodged by Steven Gladman of Hall Chadwick who was the Liquidator of Go Sushi (Corporate) Pty Ltd, Gavin Morton of Morton’s Solvency Accountants who was the Liquidator of Happy Tribe Pty Ltd and Timothy Clifton of Clifton Hall who was the Liquidator of Sushi Blue Holdings Pty Ltd. ASIC assisted the Liquidators of Go Sushi (Corporate) Pty Ltd and Happy Tribe Pty Ltd to prepare their supplementary reports by providing funding from the Assetless Administration Fund.

The total amount collectively owed to the ATO and the unsecured creditors of the five failed companies was in excess of $5.1 million.

Ms Mills is disqualified from managing corporations until 11 August 2021.

Background

Section 206F of the Corporations Act allows ASIC to disqualify a person from managing corporations for up to five years if, within a seven-year period, the person was an officer of two or more companies that were wound up and the liquidators lodge reports with ASIC about each company’s inability to pay its debts or alleges misconduct.

ASIC also maintains a 'Banned and Disqualified Persons' register that provides information about people who have been disqualified from:

• involvement in the management of a corporation,
• auditing self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), or
• practicing in the financial services of credit industry.