Agency Group releases results after administration row

Real estate firm The Agency Group has released its financial and operating results for the first half of the financial year just days after having to fight to stop administrators from taking action over a $385,000 debt.

On Tuesday, accounting firm BDO was appointed as voluntary administrators over a debt the company allegedly owed to Magnolia Group, which holds a 16.65 per cent stake in the company.

Magnolia Group, trading as MCL 105 Pty Ltd, said it had lost confidence in the company.

But on Wednesday The Agency took its fight to stop the action to the Federal Court, filing an interlocutory injunction to prevent administrators from taking action while the two parties resolved the “disputed” debt.

Lawyer Anthony Papamatheos, acting on behalf of The Agency managing director Paul Clement Niardone, insisted that the company was solvent - filing a suggested list of orders stating that it would pay $390,000 into the court by this afternoon, January 22.

Justice Craig Colvin granted the injunction and moved to adjourn the matter to a case management hearing on February 1, with the administrators agreeing to stand aside to allow the contractual dispute to be dealt with.

In an announcement released on the ASX this afternoon, the company claimed that its unaudited earnings before interest, tax, and depreciation were $1.6 million for the first half of 2021, with an operational cash flow of $1.54 million.

The Agency claims to have sold $2.2 billion worth of property in the last six months, up $700 million on the same period last year.

The company stated the sales had further cemented its position as one of the fastest growing real estate companies in Australia.