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A gourmet meal delivery business founded by celebrity chef Shane Delia racked up debts of more than $6.3 million, including to thousands of customers owed almost $4.4 million in gift vouchers that will not be honoured.
Providoor, which was launched by Delia during the COVID-19 lockdowns to deliver meals from many of Melbourne’s most popular restaurants, entered external administration in late April.
Chef Shane Delia prepares meals for his Providoor delivery service at Maha restaurant, Melbourne.
The feted restaurateur has claimed Providoor was shuttered because a major investor chose to withdraw millions of dollars in funding and that the collapse “never had to happen”.
“The only reason it happened is because we lost the confidence of an investor, and they wanted to pull their money out,” he told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
“There was a technical breach – a reporting breach (by Providoor) – that they didn’t give us any chance to fix, and they used that to pull the money. It was an oversight.
“I still honestly believe that the business would still be here, it would still be trading and we’d be navigating through whatever rough waters were ahead of us.”
The investor, Collins St Asset Management, declined to comment.
The Providoor delivery service was envisioned as a lifeline for the hospitality industry during lockdown by allowing restaurants, such as Rockpool, Supernormal, Tipo 00 and Spice Temple, to sell meal kits directly to the public in Melbourne and then later Sydney and Brisbane.
The collapse has left thousands of foodies and corporate clients holding gift cards that liquidator RSM Australia Partners said could not be honoured.
Delia said cardholders were “justifiably” upset about their losses.
Financial records filed by the liquidator show Providoor owes $6.32 million to creditors, including $389,000 in pay and entitlements to former employees and $176,000 in unpaid taxes.
There are also debts owed to a number of high-profile restaurants that supplied meals to Providoor, including Entrecote, Supernormal and Rumi.
RSM Australia Partners is currently attempting to sell the brand, customer database and other intellectual property owned by Providoor.
The liquidator declined to comment on the sales campaign, which is slated to close this evening.
“Providoor is a good business and I’m hoping someone, through this liquidation process, picks it up and can realise its potential. It just needed some time,” Delia said.
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