A SURPRISE creditor of failed Metabolism Health Limited has emerged seeking $751,400, about 10 times the amount owed to identified unsecured creditors of the company, which had one of the shortest recorded lives as a listed company.
The creditors’ report, prepared by administrator Brian McMaster from Ernst & Young, shows that Carfee Pty Ltd has made the claim, alleging that Metabolism Health, the failed vehicle behind troubled weight loss company The Metabolism Centre, via its directors, guaranteed the debt.
Mr McMaster said he was still awaiting documentary evidence from the company to prove its claim, which is listed as a contingent liability in his report to creditors.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission records show that Christopher McCarthy is the sole director and secretary of Carfee. WA Business News has been unable to reach Mr McCarthy for comment.
Mr McMaster said four parties had approached him with proposals to provide equity to re-list Metabolism Health.
“We will probably make a decision at some point this week. We’ll get to a point where one of those parties we’re looking at will be the preferred bidder that we’ll take to the creditors,” he said.
If that happens a deed of company arrangement could be forthcoming.
“The proposals we’re looking at would be to continue the Metabolism business in some form,” Mr McMaster said.
According to the creditors’ report, Mr McMaster has also found evidence that the company may have traded while insolvent.
However, he told WA Business News it was unlikely the directors would be charged with insolvent trading offences if the deed of company arrangement could be put in place and the company avoided liquidation.
ASIC records show the directors are Jim Cowling, Joseph Ohayon and David John.
The creditors’ report also suggests that documents show the Metabolism Health board proceeded with the company’s listing even though it knew its loss for the July to September period was higher than the projected loss shown in its prospectus.
These matters have been referred to ASIC.
One of the top 20 shareholders of Metabolism Health, Ian Middlemas, said he was philosophical about the way the company’s fortunes had panned out.
Mr Middlemas said he had about $100,000 tied up in the company, shares that he had held in Timemac Solutions – one of Metabolism Health’s former guises that he had bought in 1999.
Back then Timemac was just one of many struggling mining companies that had gone dot.com.
“It spent a fair bit of time in suspension. I think I’d written it off,” Mr Middlemas said.
Mr Middlemas’ co-director in several companies, Mark Pearce, was one of the three directors who cleaned out the Timemac shell and turned it into the Mustang Group, which was used as the vehicle to take Metabolism Health to the stock market.
Mr Pearce and the other two directors, Mark Savage and Cale Carson, resigned on September 23 2003 – three days before the Metabolism Health prospectus was lodged with ASIC – to make way for the three directors who controlled it at listing.
