Receivers sell off Doughnut Time owner’s venues

Receivers for failed Doughnut Time entrepreneur Damian Griffiths have put some of his assets on the market, including two venues that surround the very first Doughnut Time outlet.

Griffiths is facing a personal bankruptcy lawsuit over debts relating to his failed ventures, with Doughnut Time stores closing around the country amid staff accusations of unpaid wages and superannuation.

Griffiths’ own family successfully sued him for more than half a million dollars for debts dating back to the construction of one of his properties in 2008, while a Doughnut Time landlord in Sydney has also launched Supreme Court action over $400,000 in unpaid rent.

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At its peak, Doughnut Time had 30 stores and around 500 staff across Australia and the UK.

The majority of the stores have now closed, while Griffiths sold some of the remaining stores to the company’s former CEO Dan Strachotta.

And now receivers are selling off two Fortitude Valley venues that were a part of Griffith’s once thriving empire around the Alfred St strip.

The Limes Hotel was seized in December after Griffiths’ family’s successful legal action, while popular neighbouring pub Alfred & Constance is also being sold off.

Doughnut Time’s first outlet opened at a ‘hole in the wall’ near both properties.

The boutique Limes Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley was built in 2008.

Griffiths previously attempted to sell the Limes Hotel in 2015, while Alfred & Constance was also listed for sale in 2016.

Now CBRE Hotels’ Wayne Bunz, Paul Fraser and Hayley Manvell have been appointed to manage the sale of the two hospitality assets.

The Limes Hotel, which opened a decade ago, is a four-star boutique hotel targeted at the midweek corporate crowd and weekend holidayers, with 21 guest rooms and a rooftop bar featuring two plunge pools.

Alfred & Constance is a major local venue set within two ‘Queenslander’-style buildings and includes a pub, beer garden, café, restaurant and the Fever nightclub. It has a late-night liquor licence.

Manvell says both properties represent strong business opportunities.

“These assets both possess strong brand equity, and as such we believe they will be keenly sought after from the market,” she says.

“Limes Hotel is a niche limited service offering, efficient in its design and layout, and is expected to appeal to hotel owner-operators and high net worth individuals due to its operational simplicity”.

The properties are to be sold individually via expressions of interest campaigns, which end on April 19.