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Ref: #SBG post-editorial dots & dashes?? & https://auntypru.com/sbg-29-03-20-if-you...today-etc/

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Via the Oz...  : 

Soar Aviation placed in administration



Soar Aviation founder Neel Khokhani was ranked 51st on the Australian Financial Review’s 2019 Young Rich List before resigning in March.

DAVID ROSS
JOURNALIST
8:06PM DECEMBER 31, 2020

One of the largest flight schools in Australia and one-time media darling Soar Aviation has entered administration leaving hundreds of students in limbo and 54 staff reeling.

Documents filed with the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reveal KPMG partners Brendan Richards and James Stewart have been appointed administrators to try to help the collapsed aviation school repay debts.

Mr Richards and Mr Stewart will oversee the administration of Double Sunrise Holdings, Gobel Aviation, and a suite of associated entities with Soar Aviation.

Mr Richards said it was still early into the administration for further details to come out.

“When we were appointed there wasn’t sufficient cash in the business to continue operating it. We have taken the decision to close the business,” he said.

“We’ve retained some core staff to assist us in developing a plan for the future of the business.”

Mr Richards noted Soar Aviation would make a good buy for any interested party seeking a Civil Aviation Safety Authority accredited business.

“We are canvassing the market for potentially interested parties who may be keen to do a quick deal having regard to the fact it’s a really good turn-key operation,” he said.

Soar Aviation unsecured creditors are reportedly owed approximately $850,000, while aircraft leases totalling almost $5.2m are outstanding.

Founded in 2013, Soar Aviation has operations at Melbourne’s Moorabbin airport and Sydney’s Bankstown Airport.

The flight school is currently used by Victoria’s Box Hill Institute to deliver training services for a diploma in aviation.

Students were reportedly shocked by the sudden shutting of Soar Aviation, with one posting to a Facebook group a photo of a sign posted to the company’s door at its Moorabbin Airport site advising all flying classes had been suspended.

Phone calls to Solar Aviation on Thursday were met with a message advising that as of December 29 “we are unable to take your call, return any calls or return any messages you leave”.

Soar Aviation operates a fleet of 56 light sport aircraft, providing training for pilots across Melbourne and Sydney.

The flight school put up seven of its aircraft for sale earlier this year, seeking $500,000 to cover losses.

However, the business has been in financial trouble in weeks leading up to Christmas.

The collapse is a fall back to earth for the flight school which had been celebrated for making its founder and former CEO Neel Khokhani rich, with an estimated net worth of tens of millions of dollars.

The wind-up of Soar Aviation comes after years of bad news for the flight school and the resignation earlier this year of Mr Khokhani, who said his departure was unrelated to regulatory and legal scrutiny.

Mr Khokhani, through a trust, retains ownership of a significant portion of the company.

When contacted by The Australian, Mr Khokhani refused to answer any questions about Soar Aviation.

Private equity fund, The Growth Fund, owns much of the remainder of the company.

The Growth Fund COO, Don Grover, has served as CEO of Soar Aviation since Mr Khokhani departed.

Highs and lows

Flight training at Soar Aviation had been suspended in 2019 after its training partner the Box Hill Institute demanded the company supply documentation about its fleet and trainers.

Soar Aviation’s registered training organisation status was also revoked after an audit by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the national regulatory body for vocational education.

This came after the company was subject to a litany of complaints by past students alleging they did not receive the training they were promised.

Gordon Legal, representing almost 200 students, launched a class action against Soar Aviation, alleging its teaching standards were so low that many did not meet Civil Aviation Authority requirements to obtain a commercial pilot licence.

Soar Aviation had its accreditation restored in March, but still faced sanctions from the skills authority.

A student from the flight school was involved in a serious crash in December 2019.

Another student and a trainer from the school died in a crash at Carcoar, south of Orange in the central west of NSW in November.

The plane was reportedly attempting to land before crashing.

The appointment of KPMG administrators comes as temporary insolvency protection measures set up to safeguard companies during the pandemic are set to expire.

A creditors’ meeting for the companies involved in the Soar Aviation administration is set for January 11.

Thousands of businesses are expected to go bust in 2021, with some industry figures putting the expected figure as high as 15,000.

This comes after a drop in the number businesses entering insolvency in 2020 because of protections extended by the federal government in the early days of the COVID pandemic.

Plus via the ABC: China Southern Airlines WA pilot college in liquidation as 62 local staff sacked 



Dear Miniscule McDonaught...Happy New Year from ALL of us on the AuntyPru network... 


Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-13-09-20-a-twiddle/


MTF...P2