A chain of childcare centres has gone into liquidation owing $20million to creditors as work-from-home arrangements destroyed its business model.
Seven Precious Cargo childcare centres and two offices in Adelaide were placed into liquidation on Tuesday, with a recent $4.8million sale of assets to a listed company failing to clear its debts to suppliers and the tax office.
Adelaide-based business advisory firm Heard Phillips Lieberenz is now in charge of winding up the company, with directors Andrew Heard and Anthony Phillips appointed as liquidators.
Mr Heard told Daily Mail work-from-home arrangements had destroyed the profitability of the company, as average occupancy levels for its businesses plunged to just 61 per cent.
‘Occupancy levels were lower than anticipated, lower than ideal,’ he said.
‘It’s a fairly competitive environment for childcare centres.
‘I would have no doubt that people working from home arrangements that became more common after Covid perhaps meant that there was less demand for childcare places.’
The childcare centres had prided themselves on offering food from commercial kitchens, dinners for children, music rooms and chickens and vegetable gardens.
A creditor’s report, obtained by Daily Mail , showed Precious Cargo owed $19.9million to creditors, who included landlords, suppliers and almost $2million to the tax office.
Cheryl Shigrov founded Precious Cargo Education in 2006 after volunteering at her son’s Montessori preschool as play group co-ordinator and teacher’s assistant.
‘I am also a strong advocate of better pay and conditions for educators, including through the child care industry’s union, United Voice,’ she said.
‘My vision is to create a business model that gives back to the community and offers a unique and interconnecting range of businesses that support the improvement of humanity.’
The affected centres are at Blackwood, Collinswood, Lockleys, Marion, Woodville Park and Westbourne Park.
An initial liquidation announcement with the n Securities and Investments Commission, affecting 11 centres, was made in early June, two days before the Fair Work Commission awarded a 15 per cent pay increase to childcare workers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in August announced his government would set aside $3.6billion to fund this double-digit pay increase, which will see the first 10 per cent rise come into effect in December followed by the other 5 per cent in December 2025.
This will see childcare worker pay rise by $103 a week before Christmas, increasing to at least $155 a week from December 2025.
Ms Shigrov in June made it clear financial issues, unrelated to industrial relations, had led to her winding up her childcare centres.
‘In recent years there have been some challenges that the company has not been able to overcome that have been experienced sector-wide,’ she told her Facebook followers.
‘In my role, I as director, take responsibility for not being able to navigate these challenges.
‘To our children, families and staff, I apologise that my journey has come to a close, but ask that you work together with the administrators and I to find a way forward to preserve Precious Cargo and bring it back to a thriving entity.’
Mayfield Childcare in July announced it would buy seven Precious Cargo centres in Adelaide for $4.8million during the September quarter.
The deal included the brand name and intellectual property for the centres at Blackwood, Collinswood, Lockleys, Marion, St Peters, Westbourne Park and Woodville Park.
These centres still feature of Precious Cargo’s website.
It told the n Securities Exchange it had declined to acquire the other four ‘underperforming’ Precious Cargo centres that were initially in liquidation under insolvency firm Meertens.
Daily Mail has contacted Heard Phillips Lieberenz to clarify the status of the childcare centres in the deal.
Precious Cargo had previously sold two centres at Woodcroft and Aldinga more than a decade ago.
The Montessori teaching method focuses on letting children choose their own activities, with an emphasis on creativity and age-tailored lessons.