Company likely insolvent when it opened failed ACT restaurant: report

Botswana Butchery Canberra entered external administration only two months after opening in January this year.

While the high-end Canberra Centre restaurant is still trading, administrators have recommended it be wound up.

The restaurant has garnered attention for its luxe interiors and high-end menu items, like a $390 steak and $115 charcuterie board.

Good Group Australia is the parent company of several restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne.

These include two Botswana Butchery restaurants, White and Wongs Sydney and Chadstone, Sardine Bar, Wong Baby Chapel and Rooftop.

The entire group owes creditors $23 million.

Administrators said the company failed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unpaid tax worth $3.5 million, unpaid rent to landlords, opening failed restaurants and poor financial planning.

The administrators believe Good Group Australia and its entities were trading insolvent from September 2023, several months before they opened the Canberra restaurant.

The Sydney and Melbourne Botswana Butchery restaurants were profitable in 2023 and 2024, administrators said.

However, the financial losses of other entities - including the Canberra eatery - resulted in the entire group's insolvency.

The Canberra restaurant was running at net loss on April 30, three months after it opened.

Unprofitable restaurants Wongs Baby Chapel in Melbourne stopped trading in October 2023, and two White and Wongs closed in 2024.

Botswana Butchery Canberra owes creditors between about $430,000 to $2.1 million, a report by administrators BDO said.

This includes $63,462 owed to employees in unpaid superannuation, annual and long service leave.

The Canberra Times previously reported the "huge" restaurant could seat 200 guests across two levels, had floor to ceiling windows, and velvet and leather banquette seating.

Administrators said the glamorous fit-out- including furniture, fixtures and kitchen equipment - was valued at $256,000.

However the liquidation value is likely only $96,000, as much of the property cannot be removed or easily sold.

The restaurant owes the tax office $102,105.

Administrators estimate the Botswana Butchery Canberra's assets are worth between $50,427 and $182,973.

The Canberra restaurant also seems to have borrowed about $1.8 million from other Good Group Australia entities.

At the time they went into administration, the restaurant had about $86,500 worth of food and drinks in stock.

Canberra Botswana Butchery has received glowing media coverage, with pricey menu items a hit with critics.

Mains include Aylesbury duck for $57, while a 1.6kg Jacks Creek wagyu tomahawk from Tamworth sets diners back $390.

Grilled watermelon, for $29, and a $48 steak sandwich are offered as an entree or light main option, while a signature charcuterie tasting board with Botswana duck liver pate and Wagyu Bresaola costs $115.

The restaurant even got the ACT's Chief Minister Andrew Barr tick of approval .

"I know it will make a great contribution to our local hospitality scene," Mr Barr wrote on LinkedIn in January this year.

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"I'm proud that Botswana Butchery has chosen Canberra to be home to their third location in Australia."

Good Group Australia is a subsidiary of Good Group New Zealand.

There are two Botswana Butchery restaurants in Auckland and Queenstown.