More pressure on Saraceni

BELEAGUERED property developer Luke Saraceni’s position was made even tougher last week when Bankwest moved to control more of his assets, and the administrator of the company behind his Raine Square development queried a $1.3 million transfer.

Receivers from Ferrier Hodgson took control of Saraceni-associated entities: Seaport, which owns the Bayside City Plaza shopping centre in Warrnambool; Newport Securites, which holds a 40-hectare property near Margaret River; and Mayport Nominees, which holds strata retail units in Spearwood.

And Pitcher Partners managing director Bryan Hughes said the transfer of $1.3 million from Raine Square holding company Westgem was just one of many he would investigate in his role as administrator.

Mr Hughes said the transfer took place a day before he was appointed.

Mr Saraceni has reportedly dismissed concerns about the payment, saying it was a regular transfer in the course of normal business.

According to a Bankwest spokesperson, the funds were supposed to be provided to Raine Square's joint financiers, Bankwest and Bank of Scotland International.

In September last year, Westgem and the financiers entered into new arrangements that required Bankwest and BOS International to provide additional funding, and for Westgem to make significant additional contributions to the project.