Three companies previously linked to Bendigo cafes have been placed in voluntary liquidation

A liquidator was appointed to Bath Lane Cafe Pty Ltd, The Green Olive Pty Ltd, and Cafe Au Lait (Vic) Pty Ltd on March 22.

Bath Lane Cafe is trading under new a owner, who purchased the cafe in October.

“When I bought this business I had no idea this was happening,” the owner, who did not wish to be named, said.

Finders Keepers – formerly Cafe Au Lait – closed earlier this year.

The Green Olive Cafe was also trading on Wednesday and is believed to be on the market.

Liquidator Richard Rohrt, of Melbourne-based firm Hamilton Murphy, is investigating the state of all three companies involved in the cafes.

He appealed for employees and other creditors to contact him directly with any claims.

“If companies have gone into liquidation employees are entitled to rank as priority creditors,” Mr Rohrt said.

Documents sighted by the Bendigo Advertiser indicate both the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Taxation Office have investigated allegations of underpayment, which were raised by former staffers.

The Bendigo Advertiser is aware a number of former employees have sought legal advice regarding their entitlements.

Former employees pursuing outstanding entitlements with the ATO were today notified their investigations had been closed.

“When a company is in liquidation, it is the liquidator’s responsibility to advise if there are sufficient funds to meet the employer’s superannuation guarantee obligations,” correspondence sighted by the Bendigo Advertiser states.

A 76-year-old woman in a Nathalia nursing home – Gillian Claire Brown – is the director of all three companies in liquidation.

Documents obtained by the Bendigo Advertiser indicate meetings to decide the fate of the companies took place at the nursing home.

Ms Brown is the mother of central Victorian businessman Paul Robert Moran – the man at the helm of the companies involved in the same three cafes four years ago.

A liquidator was appointed to Moran Investments Group Pty Ltd, Moran Hospitality & Leisure Pty Ltd, and Morcorp Cartely Pty Ltd on March 13, 2014.

Liquidator Jim Downey told the Bendigo Advertiser in 2014 the three companies owed creditors a combined total of about $240,000.

Mr Moran then said he had sold the businesses to new owners. ''I’m in no way involved in those businesses,” he told the Bendigo Advertiser in 2014.

He last week consented to the voluntary liquidation of Cafe Au Lait Pty Ltd as its sole shareholder, holding shares “comprising not less than 95 per cent of the votes that may be cast at a general meeting of the company.”

Mr Moran’s sister, Helen Louise Moran, was the chair and sole shareholder of The Green OIive Pty Ltd. Ms Brown, Ms Moran and Mr Moran have been contacted for comment.

The new owner of Bath Lane Cafe stressed they were not affiliated with Mr Moran.

To contact Mr Rohrt, phone the Hamilton Murphy offices on (03) 9024 6244.