Dainton Beer have reopened their taphouses, weeks after both shut without warning in July. The sudden closure was caused by an oversight which meant their liquor licence lapsed. While this has now been resolved, the process has seen Daicom Australia Pty Ltd, the entity which owns the brewery and its assets, placed into liquidation.
Dainton's general manager Paul Keeshan told The Crafty Pint the brewery and the two venues continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis, with the producer's liquor licence reinstated to their landlord, brewery co-founder Kev Dainton, and transferred to a separate entity.
“You do get a grace period and the reminders were being sent,” Paul says of the liquor licence issue. “But nobody received them and then it formally lapsed and, at that point, you legally can’t trade.”
Kev, who founded the brewery with his son Dan, looked for a way to reopen the venues as quickly as they could; alongside his legal team they landed upon the transfer of their licence.
“We had to stop trading while it was being reinstated under the ownership of the landlord,” Paul says. “It’s been reinstated to Daitronics, which is also owned by Kev Dainton.
“To apply for a whole new licence would be about a three-month process and we just couldn’t have gone without trading that long, it would have sent us under.”
Complicating matters is the fact that, following the transfer of the licence, Daicom was no longer able to fulfil the DOCA (Deed of Company Arrangement) that was approved by creditors in December. As such, it has been placed into liquidation by DBA Reconstruction & Advisory, which oversaw Daicom's voluntary administration late last year.
“The operations of the business needed to be transferred to another entity,” DBA director Richard Abraham told The Crafty Pint. "That's essentially what we've done by entering into a licence agreement.
“But ... it meant that Daicom is unable to fulfil the Deed of Company Arrangement that was executed late last year, and so has gone into liquidation as of [August 30].”
A requirement of the liquidation process is that Dainton Beer has been put up for sale, although the most likely buyer remains the Dainton family.
“There may be third parties that are interested in acquiring the business,” Richard says. “We're certainly open to all conversations on that front but, ultimately, it's a further restructuring of the business – but the business will continue.
“I think the likelihood is this will end in the sale of the business to this related entity and, meanwhile, it’s business as usual.”
Reflecting on the current challenges facing the local beer industry, Paul says it is hard to see who else might buy it, adding: “But to go through the process, we do have to put the business up for sale temporarily. We’re not expecting too much interest in this market but that could happen, someone might come in and offer Kev a decent price to sell it.
“If no one wants to buy it, then Daitronics becomes the owner of Dainton Beer, which is still Kev.”
Paul says they are working with suppliers as they navigate this process less than a year after going through administration.
“[Industry suppliers have] taken so many hits with the series of VAs,” he says. "Because we did go through the administration, most of our suppliers have been on prepaid terms, so we have been paying as we go.”
However, one group significantly hit is the equity crowdfunders who put money into Daicom via two separate crowdfunding campaigns for Dainton Beer. The liquidation of Daicom will likely see the loss of all the value in their shares.
“What we will do is continue the discounts that we’ve offered off the back of their investment,” Paul says.
“We wouldn’t have the Croydon taphouse without them and they are really important to us. So we’ll continue to treat them as investors from the point of view of shareholder benefits.”
While acknowledging they're travelling on a rocky road, and will be for some time, he says early signs from their first weekend back have been good.
“We just got open for Father's Day by the skin of our teeth, which would have been a massive hit to trade if we didn't,” he says. “There's been a lot of excitement from punters and staff are back to work which is great.”
Dainton Beer: Trading Update (30/08/24)
Daicom Australia Pty Ltd (Daicom) trading as Dainton Beer, has been operating subject to a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) after a financial restructuring in December 2023.
Due to a need for further restructuring of the business, the DOCA has terminated today and Daicom has been placed in liquidation.
DBA Reconstruction & Advisory, as Liquidator, is supporting the ongoing trading of Dainton Beer, operating under licence. Dainton’s employees and customers should consider it business as usual. There will be no immediate impact on Dainton’s beer production and taphouse operations at Carrum Downs and Croydon.
DBA Reconstruction & Advisory is calling for expressions of interest to acquire the business and assets of Dainton Beer. Dainton is committed to maintaining a high standard of service and open communication with all stakeholders during this process.
Will Ziebell is a history graduate who knows more about The Wire than he does about beer. He was awarded the AIBA Best Media trophy for 2018; HBO have told him to please send his fan mail elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
Spending time living in the UK (and backpacking across Europe) when I was 21 certainly gave me a better understanding of the beer and different styles of the world. But I'd say it was a holiday to the High Country a little while later when lunch and a tasting paddle at Bridge Road Brewers created an obsession with Australian breweries and locally made beer.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
-
Boatrocker's Miss Pinky: It's a raspberry-packed Berliner Weisse that neither looks or tastes the way many people conceive of beer.
-
Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown: A luscious mix of chocolate and hazelnut that can appeal to the sweet tooth within us all.
-
Stone & Wood Pacific Ale: As the father of my oldest friend once said to me: "It's the perfect refreshing pint that smells like they've loaded it with the God's herb."
The last beer you enjoyed:
Garage Project's DFA while sitting at the bar at Miss Moses as the sounds of The Rolling Stone drifting in the background.
Three things that represent you:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Ken Burns
- The State Library of Victoria
