Reports of the sale of the Hopetoun Hotel to a new owner have been denied by lawyers representing the current proprietors.
Adrian Bull of independent record label Blind Records first announced his apparent purchaseof the iconic live music pub on Monday November 7, saying the multi-million-dollar outlay will “certainly leave me in debt until the day I shuffle off”. He repeated the claims in interviews with Music Feeds and The Music Network on Wednesday November 9.
The news was initially greeted with a mix of excitement and scepticism in the local music scene, as written proof of the deal beyond Mr. Bull’s claimsproved elusive.
As of today, lawyers representing the current owners of the Hopetoun Hotel – The Lion Investment Group Pty Ltd – have rejected Mr. Bull’s claims that he has purchased the venue.
Those excited by talk of Hopetoun sale/return as a venue: has it been confirmed? Where’s the money from? Really think gigs will recoup $7m?
— Bernard Zuel (@BernardZuel) November 8, 2016
Trump bought the Hopetoun
— LEVINS (@levdawg) November 8, 2016
‘CREATIVE ACCOUNTING’
Mr. Bull’s initial response to the negative comments from social media users was to attribute them to “tall poppy syndrome”. Speaking with the BRAG yesterday, he said:
“I got a little bit tired of walking past and seeing the place boarded up and looking disgusting … It’s all done.
“I get the title deed on settlement, so it’ll be seven weeks from Friday … Fingers crossed it works, because somebody has to pay off the mortgage on the place.”
Questions remained over Mr. Bull had secured the money for the purchase. “It wasn’t a cheap place to buy,” he told the BRAG.
Asked how he secured a bank loan, he said it was through “a hell of a lot of creative accounting, which allowed me to go to a bank and say, ‘I’ve got this plan – laugh me out of the building if you want, but here’s this place that deserves to be open.’
“So how it was secured was simply doing that, and maybe a little bit of begging, and now I’m left with a massive mortgage. It’s that simple.”
When the BRAG asked Mr. Bull to clarify the phrase “creative accounting” and how it would be received by those who doubted the purchase, he said: “A typical thing in Australia is the tall poppy syndrome. And the naysayers, I don’t care if they attack me personally – I’m too old to worry about that – but to attack a commitment to doing something that can only be better for Sydney … it’s a confusing thing as well.
“People will come or they won’t, it’ll stay open or it won’t. Someone had to give it a try and there was no one else, so I had to give it a try myself.”
THE HOPETOUN HAS NOT BEEN SOLD
Following the publication of Bull’s claims, he was contacted by Judd Commercial Lawyers, representing the current owners, for a ‘please explain’. JCL has now issued a statement to the media, which reads:
“The Hopetoun Hotel has not been sold and has not been sold to Mr. Adrian Bull.
“Our client, prior to being informed of the news articles published yesterday, had never heard of Mr. Adrian Bull. Our client has never been contacted by Mr. Adrian Bull.
“Our client does not know why Mr. Bull has made representations to the effect that he has purchased the Hopetoun Hotel when he has not.
“We have invited Mr. Bull to correct the public record and provide an explanation.”
Contacted by the BRAG for further comment, Mr. Bull declined, pending legal advice.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
