The company overseeing $75 million in investments for a host of high-profile names, including Collingwood legend Scott Pendlebury, has been ordered into liquidation at the request of an investor.
The collapse comes as shareholders in the troubled Western Melbourne Group scramble to find new lines of funding, as a D-date looms over the project that was to build a large sporting complex on Melbourne’s western fringe.
The Sayers Road Investment Co – which oversees the Sayers Road Trust – was placed into liquidation last month on the orders of a Queensland judge.
Sayers Road Trust is one of the main companies behind the Western Melbourne Group’s plans to build a sporting, entertainment, health and retail precinct in Tarneit, that would house A-League team Western United.
The trust and the project were overseen by controversial sporting entrepreneur, former player manager and financial adviser Jason Sourasis.
Sourasis, once one of the top names in AFL player management, has been battling legal claims from former clients, including Pendlebury, that he mismanaged their investments.
The trust is estimated to hold $75 million of investments on behalf of clients, which include a who’s who of sporting stars, including two-time Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, and fellow AFL players Dyson Heppell, Jy Simpkin, Josh Battle and Mason Wood.
Liquidators have confirmed to this masthead that they will begin investigating the operation of the trust, its investments and what cash it is holding.
The collapse of the trustee company comes as discussions surrounding the future of the financially stricken Western Melbourne Group project reach a key point, the Queensland court heard last month.
Two sources close to negotiations, but not authorised to speak publicly, said the issues surrounding the Sayers Road trust relate to legacy issues with how it was set up under the troubled Sourasis entities.
While issues with the trust play out, the Western Melbourne Group have shifted their focus to delivering the project in full.
The project is being progressed with new financial partners, estimated to be funding $100 million to support the delivery of the project and protect investor interests.
The sources said it was understood among shareholders that without urgent funding, the entire project and club, which is in hibernation for the 2026 season due to its financial issues, will collapse in a matter of weeks.
Australian Professional Leagues, the governing body for top-tier soccer, is understood to be monitoring the situation closely, with a strong preference for a clean reset at the club. The alternative is the potential shutdown of the 7000-member club if a viable solution is not achieved.
The club continues to operate junior teams within Football Victoria local competitions, with an estimated 200 juniors left without a club mid-season if the project and club collapse.
The court decision to place the trust into liquidation is expected to be appealed by Sourasis’ interests, according to a source who asked to speak confidentially because it was a legal matter.
The machinations over the future of the project and the club are not expected to stop the liquidation of the trust or Sourasis’ other legal and financial troubles.
Pendlebury is currently suing Sourasis in the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming the former player manager invested nearly $3 million of his money without permission.
That allegedly included dozens of transfers of Pendlebury’s money to the Sayers Road Trust totalling close to $2 million, according to court documents.
Sourasis has denied Pendlebury’s allegations and, in his defence, produced messages between the former friends that he says show that the two-time premiership player knew how the money was being invested.
The ATO is also suing Sourasis in the County Court for $6.9 million in unpaid taxes across several businesses, including the Western Melbourne Group entities where he was a director.
The Sayers Road Investment Co was plunged into liquidation at the request of another major investor in the project, George Koulouris.
Koulouris himself launched legal action against Sourasis in January last year, alleging he was misled into making a range of investments in Sourasis’ projects.
Sourasis has been vigorously defending the matter. The wind-up orders for the Sayers Road trustee company are the result of separate action taken by Koulouris against Sourasis’ companies.
The Sayers Road Investment Co had initially agreed to pay Koulouris close to $700,000 to halt its liquidation, according to orders issued by the court. When the amount was not paid in April, the company was wound up.
Koulouris’ lawyers did not respond to inquiries.
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