Source : Perth Now news
Barbeques Galore has gone bust, 500 jobs are up in the air and store gift cards have been slashed to one-third of their value.
A voluntary administrator was appointed on Thursday, citing cash holdings as the largest issue for the flailing business.
Australia’s largest barbecue and outdoor furniture retailer oversees 68 company-owned stores and 27 franchise stores across Australia, with about 500 staff.
The voluntary administrator and receivers say the business will need to be restructured or sold.
Anyone holding vouchers for the store will need to pay $2 per $1 they hope to redeem from their voucher; i.e. to use a $100 voucher, a customer needs to spend $200 cash.
Global firm Ankura have been appointed receivers and managers, with a first meeting of creditors scheduled for February 24.
Items customers have fully or part paid for will be delivered, the receivers say.
The voluntary administration does not affect the franchisee-owned stores.
Barbeques Galore was purchased by US private equity firm Gordon Brothers in late-2025. The Australian Financial Review reports the buyout was secured with a nominal fee.
Barbeques Galore posted $172m of revenue in the 2024 financial year, similar to 2023, with a pre-tax loss of $16.1m, up from $4.7m the year before.
Barbeques Galore began in Sydney in 1977 and soon expanded into the US. The business listed, and then delisted, from the Australian Securities Exchange, listed on the Nasdaq on Wall Street, but the US division was driven to bankruptcy by the 2008 financial crisis.
Sydney-based Quadrant bought the Australian business in 2016, along with Amart Furniture.
