Guvera escapes liquidation bid

Gold Coast based music streaming service Guvera has escaped liquidation after a bid by one of its investors. Kwong Properties last month applied to the Supreme Court of Queensland to recover an alleged debt of $1,784,472.

At the time, Guvera told investors that papers had not been served properly, and it was only aware of the court action after a journalist contacted the company for a comment after receiving a routine alert from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

“We will continue to negotiate a resolution of this matter, of which we expect a successful outcome shortly,” Guvera said.

It planned to negotiate with Kwong Properties to withdraw the court action. Yesterday, Fairfax Media reported that the court dismissed the action with consent from both sides. At this stage, it is unclear as to what will transpire from here.

Documents filed in court claimed that the money had been paid in May and November 2015. Kwong Properties sent a letter of demand in September 2016. Guvera allegedly did not provide a repayment plan or supply further security.

Guvera was originally set up in 2010 and was initially funded by AMMA Private Investment. It raised $50 million from 1000 smaller investors, mostly accounting and financial services.

The streaming company was seen to be heading towards a high profile status major industry but, like many streaming services, had the problem of being hit with stifling licensing fees that eclipsed its revenue stream. Between 2008 and 2016, the company raised a total of $185 million from investors.

Last year, with a valuation of $1.3 million, it planned to list on the Australian stock exchange. However, the move proved contentious given that Guvera posted an $81.1 million loss on revenue of $1.2 million for the 2014/15 financial year. The ASX subsequently blocked the move.

Guvera closed in Australia, the United States, Latin America and Russia and Europe, announcing that it would concentrate on markets such as India (where it was successful), Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Australia will remain the company’s base.