Yahoo Finance Justin Hemmes may be evicted from popular Coogee watering hole
Bar baron Justin Hemmes is at the risk of being evicted from his popular watering hole for being two days late in paying his rent.
Hemmes and his Merivale hotel group are heading to the NSW Supreme Court to keep control of the Coogee Pavilion as his landlord, David Kingston seeks to evict him for a delay on his $1.5 million rent.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Hemmes and Kingston, the owner of the hotel, have been engaged in a bitter fight since earlier this year.
The report says Hemmes agreed to buy the site from Kingston for $37 million in March 2014 and has spent nearly $12 million on renovations.
Under the agreement between the two, Kingston wanted Hemmes to buy the hotel, previously known as the Coogee Beach Palace, by 2016.
Hemmes offered $5 million as a deposit and is paying $1.5 million a year in rent.
Court documents sighted by Fairfax reveal that Hemmes was served with a termination notice for being two days late paying the rent at the start of the year.
The rent was due on Saturday, January 3, and Merivale paid on the Monday, January 5.
Hemmes claimed the late payment would have cost Kingston $85.74, Fairfax says.
Two weeks later, another termination notice was issued for “blatant and unauthorised works” on the rooftop bar, and then a third in February for additional breaches, including a barbershop.
