On May 18, Australia-listed boutique casino operator Silver Heritage Group Ltd. announced that it was “insolvent” or “likely to become insolvent at some time in the future.”
The company board of directors appointed Ryan Eagle and Amanda Coneyworth of KPMG to serve as its administrators. They now “control the company’s operations” and are also assessing its financial position, according to Silver Heritage’s filing to the Australia Securities Exchange.
“As previously announced, the company has been exploring options to generate liquidity, and prior to the emergence of Covid-19, had received expressions of interest from several parties in respect of possible transactions,” Silver Heritage said in the filing.
“However, as a result of the emergence of Covid-19 and the forced temporary closure of the company’s facilities in Nepal, the timing in relation to the consummating one of the transactions has become uncertain.”
Silver Heritage owns and operates the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa on Nepal-India border, and manages gaming at the Millionaire’s Club and Casino, in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, according to GGRAsia.
In late March, the company suspended its hotel and casino operations. In a filing on April 30, the company said it had started “cost reduction strategies” to help it ride out the crisis.
Last Monday, Silver Heritage said its main lender, OCP Asia, was “unwilling” to provide further support to the company.
“The board of directors regret that these events have come to pass and acknowledge all the group’s employees for their hard work and contribution,” Silver Heritage stated. “The administrators will be in contact with creditors and stakeholders of the group and will make further announcement in due course.”
Silver Heritage has experienced multiple setbacks in recent years, including delays to the launch of Tiger Palace and cost overages that reached US$12 million. In March 2019, its casino operations at Phoenix International Club in Vietnam were shut down due to amendments to the property’s Investment Certificate which no longer allowed for the operation of gaming tables. Phoenix had accounted for around 45 percent of the company’s group-wide revenue in 2018, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
