Director of collapsed SA Sharpe Services company starts new energy business

The director of a recently collapsed company has started a new business while former staff members and nearly 100 creditors are still owed $6 million.

Adelaide-based electrical and energy company Sharpe Services went into liquidation last month, on July 11.

Daniel Lopresti of Clifton Hall, the appointed the liquidator, has so far found that nearly 30 employees are owed about $1 million altogether while 90 unsecured creditors are owed $3.9 million.

However, on the day of Mr Lopresti’s appointment, the liquidator visited the premises of Sharpe Services and found that all assets had been removed, including equipment and vehicles.

He also learnt that the company’s director, David Sharpe, had since started his own business, establishing a franchise in Adelaide through an existing national electrical company called O’Brien.

According to the Adelaide Advertiser, a since-deleted post on the O’Brien website announced that Mr Sharpe had established a new franchise called O’Brien Electrical & Energy Solutions Thebarton and that it had previously been named Sharpe Services.

The website stated that Mr Sharpe’s business had been “servicing South Australia for over 40 years under their former business name Sharpe Services”.

“We became aware that he’d (Mr Sharpe) commenced operations, that he had joined the O’Brien franchise after my appointment as liquidator,” the liquidator told news.com.au.

Mr Sharpe has rejected any suggestion that he restarted and renamed his business in an attempt to avoid the company’s debt liabilities.

In a statement to news.com.au, Mr Sharpe’s lawyer Luke Rowley insisted the new business was a distinct and separate entity to the now defunct Sharpe Services and rejected that his client had simply renamed the electrical company.

“David denies he is engaging in illegal activity including an illegal phoenix arrangement,” he said in a statement.

ASIC records show that Mr Sharpe is also the director of IEnergy Hub Pty Ltd, which was the business that became part of the O’Brien network.

“David did not rename his collapsed business. Sharpe is in liquidation,” Mr Rowley said.

“He incorporated a separate company which was offered an opportunity to be part of the O’Brien franchise network. They are separate and distinct entities.

“Sharpe is in liquidation and all of its assets including its business name etc have vested in the liquidator by virtue of the operation of the Corporations Act.

“IEnergy Hub Pty Ltd is a new business and is a franchisee of the O’Brien network. It is trading under the name O’Brien.”

An O’Brien spokesperson confirmed Mr Sharpe had taken up a franchise in the company’s network.

“We understand from David that he is working with all parties concerned. We have no further comment to make,” the company added in a statement to news.com.au.

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“We’re in the process of investigating, like we would in any matter, the company’s affairs and the director’s actions,” Mr Lopresti said.

The liquidator also alleged that Mr Sharpe had taken the equipment from his previous business to his new electrical company.

These assets included vehicles, intellectual property and general equipment.

“On the date of my appointment, I attended the premises, they had effectively been vacated,” Mr Lopresti said.

“We found he (Mr Sharpe) had relocated the company’s assets to a new site.

“We’ve obviously advised the company assets shouldn’t be used in a new operation. We would want to make sure that none of the company’s assets were being used inappropriately.”

It’s understood Mr Sharpe made an offer to buy the assets from his old business but at the time, the liquidator was not ready to accept the terms.

Mr Sharpe’s representative defended his decision to take equipment.

“Vacant possession of the premises from which Sharpe operated was provided to the landlord,” Mr Rowley said.

“David has made the equipment available to the liquidator for inspection and/or collection subject to discussion as to sale or purchase by David.”

Of Sharpe Services’ $6 million debts, the Australian Taxation Office is the biggest creditor, owed $1.5 million.

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Another creditor is owed an eye-watering $876,000.

“It’s likely there’s been an element of insolvent trading, the exact timing we’ll need to determine,” Mr Lopresti added.

alex.turner-cohen@news.com.au

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