Creditors divided as StrongRoom sale D-day arrives
Administrators, HLB Mann Judd, favour a liquidation and asset sale to Brisbane-based pharmacy entrepreneur Joe Zhou for $3 million, in a deal that is also supported by StrongRoom's lead venture capital backer EVP.
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SBS Australia
14 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Tim is taking a 'financial gap year'. It might just save him $100,000
In July, Tim Abbott left Sydney for a remote property more than 700km from Brisbane. Now, his workday starts at 5.30am and ends by late afternoon. He spends the day logging pine trees — a skill he picked up when he moved there — accompanied by only two other people. The work, he says, is more physical and repetitive than the Zoom meetings and quarterly planning sessions he left behind when he quit his digital marketing role in Sydney. And for the next year, until he returns to Sydney, this will be his life. The town? "It's as small as you could possibly imagine," he told the Feed. "There's one of everything." One supermarket, one petrol station, one primary school. But Tim is enjoying the simplicity and the quiet, and the new lifestyle brings one big selling point. "The money that comes in, normally I'd be like, 'okay, well that's going to bills, that's going to tolls, that's going to petrol, that's going to dinners, groceries, this, that, the other.'" Tim, 31, moved to inland Queensland and says his living expenses have dropped by 75 per cent. Source: Supplied "Now, all the money that's coming in, I'm like: 'Oh, this is my money and it's staying there,'" Tim said. Tim is part of a number of Australians who are taking a "financial gap year," relocating, temporarily, to somewhere significantly cheaper to fast-track long-term goals like home ownership. Despite more than a decade in the workforce and a steady job in digital marketing, Tim was watching his savings and income stagnate. "I was like, 'if I cut back anything less, I just don't know where it would be from. My car is 13 years old. I don't buy new clothes. I live a very humble existence,'" Tim, who grew up and spent most of his life in Sydney, told The Feed. After spending $600 a week on rent alone in Sydney, now it's $220 a month in western Queensland. Abbott estimates that his living costs have dropped by more than 75 per cent, and his income has seen a modest increase. His goal: to save $100,000 in a year and eventually buy a little, sustainable hobby farm with goats, ducks, a veggie garden. Somewhere warm, quiet, and just out of reach of the city. "I feel like it's delayed gratification. I feel like instead of missing out, I feel like I'm excited to build something for the future," he says. "It's the first time in probably pre-COVID that I'm really excited for the future again." 'Regional cities holding onto more people' KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley says the trend of younger Australians moving to regional areas has accelerated since the pandemic — driven by remote work opportunities, housing affordability and changing local economies. "We've always had people shifting around the country for short-term contracts, spending a couple of years in a regional town. So that's definitely continuous, people churn from the big cities and then back," Rawnsley says. 'While we've always seen this, I think those regional cities are probably holding onto more people than they did in the past.' Trends change depending on the location, he says, but overall, people in their late 20s and early 30s are the big cohort leaving cities like Sydney and Melbourne for "affordability and livability". The latest Regional Movers Index (RMI), which tracks migration from capital cities to regional areas, found a 10.5 per cent increase in the March quarter of 2025. This is in line with an overall trend out of Australia's capitals and into the regions after the onset of the pandemic. Current figures are 20.5 per cent higher than the pre-COVID average level of quarterly migration. "Housing affordability is going to be more of a barrier going back into the big cities," Rawnsley says. Along with affordability in the regions, Rawnsley says white-collar workers are increasingly taking advantage of the ability to work remotely. "Architects, engineers who previously were really tied to the CBDs in Sydney and Melbourne, they're now able to live and work remotely and dial into those major meetings." But while rents and mortgages remain significantly cheaper outside the capitals, housing supply in many regional centres has tightened in the past few years with the boom. "Pre-COVID vacancy rates might've been three or 4 per cent … now they're kind of one and a half, 1 per cent," he says. Even though some places are churning out housing supply, he says others just aren't. "While they've had this big influx of people, they've also brought the big city housing problems with them, and everyone's trying to work out how do we get more supply coming out of the ground." Looking forward without financial anxiety For Sarah Brown, 29, and her partner, Will Ridley, 30, the move from Sydney to Forster wasn't a leap of faith — it was planned in a spreadsheet. After the pair bought a property in the NSW mid-north coast town, which they had initially planned to keep as an investment, they decided to move into it for a "financial gap year". Now, the pair are saving the rent they'd have spent in Sydney, saved on stamp duty with first home buyer assistance, and have cut down on their living expenses. When the year is up, they'll make an assessment based on finances about what they'll do next. Will and Sarah made the move from Sydney to the coastal NSW town of Forster earlier this year. They say when their "financial gap year" is up, they will reassess their options. Source: Supplied "We were paying $820 a week [in rent] in Sydney — all of that has gone into savings," she said. The move has made them "the most financially secure we've ever been," Brown said, describing a new ease in their relationship and more freedom to imagine milestones down the line without financial anxiety. The trade-offs, though, are real. Friends are a four-hour drive away, and she spends a lot of time shuttling between Forster and Sydney for work, which still requires her to be on location for half of her working days. But for now, the benefits are outweighing the sacrifices. "I just wish I could pick all my friends up and dump them here and then I would never leave."
Perth Now
14 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Two men extradited, charged over match fixing
Two men are accused of acting as "player agents" and approaching a Queensland football competitor in attempts to fix matches. Queensland Police have extradited the men, aged 55 and 45, from Sydney and charged them after a months-long investigation into attempted sports match fixing at Gold Coast-based football games. Police allege that on May 12 and June 20, two employees of an offshore investment group acted as "player agents" and approached a football player at a Coomera home on the Gold Coast in a "co-ordinated effort" to match fix in exchange for payment. Police are yet to confirm the football code involved. Match fixing is the act of deliberately manipulating the outcome of a sports event for illicit gain, often involving betting or bribery. NSW Police searched homes in Sydney's Mosman and Mount Colah on Tuesday before Queensland Police detectives travelled to NSW to seek the two men's extradition. The men have been charged with one count each of procuring a person to engage in match-fixing pecuniary benefit. It is only the second time a person in Queensland has been charged with match-fixing since the legislation was introduced in 2014. Detective Chief Inspector Melissa Anderson said the charges should serve as a warning to anyone taking part in match-fixing. "Match-fixers attempt to manipulate games to gain a benefit, usually gambling profit, or the overall value of clubs, teams and players," she said. "Match-fixing is serious criminal behaviour that undermines community confidence in the fairness of sport." The men will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Queen's Wharf job fears as Star seeks approval for casino deal
A deal between gambling giant Star Entertainment and its partners in Brisbane's Queen's Wharf casino still faces regulatory hurdles and has left employees with questions about their future at the embattled precinct. Star told investors on Tuesday morning it had finally signed a deal with its Hong Kong partners — including one which was once linked to organised crime figures. The deal would see Star give up assets, including its 50 per cent stake in the $3.6 billion Queen's Wharf casino complex, and the Treasury car park and hotel. In exchange, Star would receive a $53 million cash injection and stakes in Gold Coast hotels near its casino there. The deal still needs to pass regulatory checks and be approved by the Queensland government. Star has struggled financially amid regulatory inquiries and increasingly tough gaming regulations. In Brisbane, the Queen's Wharf precinct was originally planned for 2022, but years of lockdowns, flooding and a mould outbreak were among many issues which delayed its opening to August 2024. In March, in a bid to stave off insolvency, Star agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in Queen's Wharf to its joint venture partners. That announcement marked the beginning of a turbulent five months, during which those same partners announced they would terminate the agreement. This week, that was walked back, with Star announcing a new deal had finally been signed. A Queensland government spokesperson said the deal between Star and its joint venture partners — Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and Far East Consortium — was not yet finalised. "The agreement … is subject to regulatory approvals, which will be considered following the receipt of formal submissions," they said. The government would not say whether it held concerns about Queen's Wharf employees working under owners with chequered legal histories, but said jobs and staff welfare were top priorities. "The Crisafulli government's priority, as always, remains on the workers at the Star," the spokesperson said. Griffith University Business School's Graeme Hughes said the deal would come as a relief to Star Entertainment if approved. "For Star, the Queen's Wharf sale is a strategic retreat from what has become a financial quagmire, with development costs blowing out by more than $1 billion," he said. Mr Hughes said the deal's success — and a lifeline for Star — hinges on getting the "green light" from regulators. "At the core of the issue is the transfer of a major casino licence to a new ownership structure," he said. "Regulators will scrutinise Chow Tai Fook and Far East to ensure they meet the stringent probity requirements necessary to control such a significant asset. "The stakes are high." The deal has left employees with questions about the future of their jobs in the precinct. United Workers Union casinos director Andrew Jones said the union had been supportive of the Star Brisbane through many of its hurdles. "The latest news once again increases uncertainty for members. We're seeking further information from the company about this announcement," he said. "Our consistent position is that any future structure of Star Brisbane should prioritise the job security of workers, which will give stability to the casino, the workers and their families."
