Wannabe trust and fund administration company in receivership

Australian-based Sargon, which attempted to buy Perpetual Guardian, has been placed in receivership.

Friday, January 31st 2020, 3:25PM

Melbourne-based Sargon, led by founder Phillip Kingston, has been placed in receivership by secured creditor, Taiping Trustees, a Hong Kong based insurance company.

The move relates to debt facilities provided to Sargon Capital by Taiping Trustees.

Sargon is best known in the New Zealand market for its a failed takeover of Perpetual Guardian owner Completus, and its purchase of Heritage Trustees.

The company sought to list on the ASX, however its offer wasn't well received. After that it tried to raise fresh equity directly from investors.

McGrathNicol’s Jason Preston was appointed as receiver and manager of the assets this week.

The company says, in a statement: "We are working with McGrathNicol and the secured creditor to seek to quickly agree on a constructive solution for all parties."

While it is the parent company which has been placed in receivership, Sargon's subsidiary companies continue to operate.

"(Sargon Capital's) operating subsidiaries are not in any form of external administration and Sargon’s role and services as trustee, supervisor and custodian are unaffected by the appointment and continue to operate as normal," the statement says.

Pitching itself as "powering the next generation of funds and financial products", the company called in Deutsche Bank and UBS to help it with early preparations for an ASX-listing last April,

At the time, Sargon's backers were believed to be keen to seek a $1 billion to $1.5 billion valuation.

That proposal received short shrift from fund managers but seven months later money-hungry Sargon and its brokers returned to potential investors with a new set of terms.

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Tags: Perpetual Guardian Sargon