The Expert Opinion of Mr Tracy
80 ASIC tendered and relied on an affidavit of Mr Jason Tracy of Deloitte affirmed 24 November 2020. Mr Tracy's affidavit annexed five documents, namely:
(a) a letter of instruction to Mr Tracy from ASIC dated 25 May 2020 (which was annexure "JMT-2");
(b) a letter of instruction to Mr Tracy from ASIC dated 1 June 2020 (which was annexure "JMT-3");
(c) an expert opinion dated 12 June 2020 (which was annexure "JMT-1");
(d) a supplementary expert opinion dated 12 August 2020 (which was annexure "JMT-4");
(e) a second supplementary expert opinion dated 14 September 2020 (which was annexure "JMT-5") (collectively, Expert Opinion): see Tracy Affidavit, Annexures "JMT1", "JMT4" and "JMT5" at CB, Tab 6.1, 6.4 and 6.5.
81 Mr Tracy is a Chartered Accountant, having been admitted as a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Mr Tracy is also a Registered Liquidator. He has in excess of twenty years' experience in the external administration of corporate entities and the assessment of entities on behalf of financial institutions and other debt providers. Mr Tracy also has experience in providing expert evidence in matters concerning the financial performance and position of corporate and other entities, as well as insolvency-related matters.
82 Mr Tracy was asked for his opinion on (among other things) whether the debts owed to Core Notes investors were secured and, if so, "[w]hat form does that security take", "[o]ver what assets is there security", and "[w]hat is the value of that security?"
83 At [3.4]-[3.6] of the expert opinion dated 12 June 2020, Mr Tracy described the Core Notes as follows:
Core Notes are secured promissory notes issued by M101 Nominees. Core Notes were promoted as only available to wholesale investors with a minimum investment threshold of $250,000, for an investment term of six to 60 months. Interest was to be paid monthly at a fixed rate dependent on the investment term regardless of investment performance.
Core notes were promoted as a "secured, asset backed, term-based investment", with a key feature being that they were supported by "first ranking, unencumbered asset security". Secured assets for Core Note investors comprise of cash in a bank account held in the name of M101 Nominees, real property assets in the Mission Beach region, Queensland, deposits paid for the purchase of real properties and loans made to related parties.
The real property assets are held in trusts which Sunseeker Holdings is the unit holder. Security over the trust assets is generally established through a suite of security documents, whereby a third-party security trustee, PAG Holdings Australia Pty Ltd (PAG) which represents the interest of investors, is the secured party. As at 20 March 2020 a total of $59,208,332 was invested in Core Notes.
84 At [3.9], Mr Tracy's 12 June 2020 expert opinion notes:
The Core Note investment brochure outlines the ability of M101 Nominees to freeze redemptions in the event of liquidity constraints. On 11 March 2020, M101 Nominees froze all redemptions due to liquidity concerns.
85 In relation to whether the debts owed to Core Notes investors were secured, Mr Tracy stated the following in his 12 June 2020 expert opinion:
(a) in relation to cash held in M101 Nominees' bank account, Mr Tracy noted that, as at 31 December 2019, M101 Nominees held cash at bank of $5,274,908. However, as at 20 March 2020, M101 Nominees' cash at bank was $572,561. Mr Tracy stated that, "[g]iven the security was in place prior to 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020, it appears to me that this asset is secured". However, Mr Tracy noted that he did "not have bank statements to verify the bank account balances at those dates";
(b) in relation to a loan made to Eleuthera by M101 Nominees, Mr Tracy stated:
The loan agreement between M101 Nominees and Eleuthera (a related party) is titled Facility Agreement. The facility agreement does not detail any information relating to proposed security arrangement in respect to the loan, nor does it detail the purpose of the loan. The loan commenced on 18 October 2019, has a limit of $250m, attracts an interest rate of 8.0% per annum and is for an initial term of 10 year with an option to extend. Full repayment is due before the expiry date, unless otherwise agreed in writing between the lender and the borrower.
(c) in respect of "[r]eal properties and deposits paid on properties but not settled", Mr Tracy stated:
In respect to assets held in Mainland Property Holdings Pty Ltd (MPH) ATF Mission Beach Property Trust (MBPT) (82 properties, 30 deposits paid on properties not settled at 20 March 2020), I comment as follows: … Except for one real property at 999 Seaview Street, Mission Beach, [the security trustee] did not have direct first mortgage security over the other properties held in MBPT at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020. In fact, it appears that a third party lender, Naplend Pty Ltd (Naplend)[,] has first registered mortgages on all titles except for one title, where it appears Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is first registered at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
…
In respect to assets held in Mainland Property Holdings No 2 Pty Ltd (MPH2) ATF Mission Beach Property Trust No 2 (MBPT2) (24 properties, 54 deposits paid on properties not settled at 20 March 2020), I comment as follows: … [the security trustee] does not have direct first mortgage security over any of the properties held in MBPT2 at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020. In fact, it appears that a third party lender, Naplend[,] has first registered mortgages on all titles.
…
In respect to assets held in Mainland Property Holdings No 3 Pty Ltd (MPH3) ATF Mission Beach Property Trust No 3 (MBPT3) (11 properties and 19 deposits paid on properties not settled at 20 March 2020), … [the security trustee] does not have direct first mortgage security over any of the properties held by MBPT3 at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020. In fact, it appears that a third party lender, Naplend[,] has first registered mortgages on all titles.
…
In respect to assets held in Mainland Property Holdings No 8 Pty Ltd ATF Mission Beach Property Trust No 8 (MBPT8) (1 property at 20 March 2020), … [the security trustee] does not appear to have first registered security at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020. According to the PPSR it appears [the security trustee]'s security was registered on 23 April 2020 and 15 May 2020 respectively, being after the date the property appears to have been acquired and after AllPAAP security was registered by Naplend and the Trustee for Naplend No 13. In the absence of a priority deed or other instrument giving priority it would appear the security interests of Naplend are ahead of Core Note investors.
…
In respect to the asset held in Mayfair Asset Holdings Pty Ltd (MAH) ATF Mayfair Island Trust (MIT) (1 property at 20 March 2020), … [the security trustee] does not have direct first mortgage security over the property held by MIT at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020. In fact, it appears that a third party, Family Islands Group Pty Ltd (Family Group) has registered mortgages on all titles.
…
In respect to the assets held [by various other relevant trusts], I comment as follows:
(a) According to the PPSRs it appears in all instances that [the security trustee]'s security was registered on 23 April 2020 and 15 May 2020 being after the date the deposits appear to have been paid in respect to properties not settled.
(b) Based on the information made available to me there is a significant risk that [the security trustee] did not have first security at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020 despite deposits on properties not settled having been paid.
(c) In respect to the deposits paid on properties not settled, I am concerned that these may be at risk of forfeiture for failure to complete on the real property transactions.
…
In respect to assets held in Jarrah Lodge Holdings Pty Ltd ATF Jarrah Lodge Unit Trust No 1 (JLUT), … [the security trustee] does not appear to have first registered security. According to the PPSR it appears [the security trustee's] security was registered on 16 April 2020, 23 April 2020 and 15 May 2020, all being after the date the loan appears to have been made and after AllPAAP security was registered by Naplend … on 23 December 2019 over JLUT.
…
(Emphasis added.)
86 At [2.11] - [2.16], Mr Tracy's expert opinion dated 12 June 2020 concludes as follows concerning the security in place:
While various security arrangements have been entered into between [the Security Trustee] as security trustee, M101 Nominees and the various trustees, it would appear, with one exception, that [the security trustee] does not have direct first mortgage security over the real properties held in the various trusts at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
It also appears that deposits were paid on properties in instances where there was no security registered on the PPSR in favour of [the Security Trustee] at the time of the deposit being paid, including at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
Further, in relation to the two related party loans, one of the loans appears to have had no security registered on the PPSR at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020, while the other appears to have a prior registered third party security at 20 March 2020.
… [I]n my opinion, there are a significant number of instances where Core Note investor security was not first ranking and the assets were not otherwise unencumbered at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
…
In respect to the loan to [Eleuthera by M101 Nominees], it appears that the loan is not secured. There is no security interest registered by [the security trustee] against Eleuthera on the PPSR and the documents made available to me make no reference to security being provided in respect to that loan at 31 December 2019 or 20 March 2020.
(Emphasis added.)
87 At [2.24], Mr Tracy's expert opinion dated 12 June 2020 states:
In summary, it would appear that Core Note investor funds were not and are not generally supported by first-ranking, unencumbered asset security at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
(Emphasis added.)
88 Mr Tracy's expert opinion dated 12 June 2020 also sets out further concerns regarding the asset security value, at [2.25] and [2.26]:
In the absence of a funds flow showing the receipt of Core Note investor funds and payment from the M101 Nominees bank account, it is unclear whether all the funds from Core Note investors have flowed to secured assets.
I have a number of concerns regarding the asset security values for Core Note investors:
(a) There is a risk that prior registered security holders may be able to escalate their facilities and appoint receivers. In the event this happens, asset values and the recovery of funds to Core Note investors could be negatively impacted.
(b) There is a risk given [Mayfair] was active in acquiring a large number of properties from October 2019 to April 2020 that these entities established a market price in an otherwise illiquid and small property market at Mission Beach. Consequently, there is a risk that the contract price in each sale contract is above market price in today's terms, negatively impacting the asset security values and recovery of funds to Core Note investors.
(c) The deposits paid on the properties not settled totalling $5,852,387 at 20 March 2020 may be at risk of forfeiture due to failure to complete, especially if significant additional funds of $86,483,036 cannot be sourced to settle these transactions. It is unclear to me where these additional funds would come from.
(d) The financial capacity of the related entities to repay the loans received from M101 Nominees is unclear in the absence of financial information outlining their financial position, historical and forecast performance.
(e) The basis of the 4% uplift totalling $2,983,400 at 20 March 2020 applied by M101 Nominees to the carrying value of the 119 real property assets, including Dunk Island is not well supported by the documents made available to me. If this amount is excluded, there would appear to be a deficiency of $2,732,540 to Core Note investors, assuming full recovery of all other secured assets in line with M101 Nominees report to [the Security Trustee] at 20 March 2020.
89 Mr Tracy provided a further expert opinion dated 12 August 2020 which stated at [2.5]-[2.8]:
The new documents [provided to Mr Tracy and] listed in Appendix 2 do not cause me to change my opinion outlined in my First Report, that [the security trustee] does not have direct first mortgage security (with one exception noted in my First Report) over the real properties held in the various trusts at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
…
The new documents listed in Appendix 2 do not cause me to change my opinion outlined in my First Report, that it appears there were deposits paid in instances where there was no security registered on the PPSR in favour of [the security trustee] at the time the deposit was paid, including at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
…
The new documents listed in Appendix 2 do not cause me to change my opinion in respect to the security position of the loan to Eleuthera as outlined in my First Report at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020, that is, that the loan is not secured.
The new documents listed in Appendix 2 do not change my opinion in respect to the loan to [Jarrah Lodge Holdings Pty Ltd as trustee for the Jarrah lodge Unit Trust No 1 (JLUT)] as outlined in my First Report that [the security trustee] does not hold first ranking unencumbered asset security at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020 …
In summary, I confirm my opinion in my First Report that it would appear that Core Note investor funds were not and are not generally supported by first-ranking, unencumbered asset security at 31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020.
(Emphasis added.)
90 As to the value of the security held by the relevant security trustee, Mr Tracy's expert opinion dated 12 August 2020 stated at [2.9]:
The new documents made available to me and detailed in Appendix 2 do not ameliorate the concerns that I raised in my First Report. In this regard, the new documents raise further questions:
(a) The report from M101 Nominees to [the security trustee] shows a significant increase in the value of the Dunk Island asset, increasing the amount recorded from $11,000,000 at 20 March 2020 to $49,725,000 at 12 June 2020. There is no accompanying explanation for this increase.
(b) There appears to have been an increase in deposits paid for properties not settled. It is unclear from the information made available to me the amount of funds required to settle these transactions and / or if these deposits are at risk of forfeiture.
(c) The report from M101 Nominees to [the security trustee] shows a loan from FIG. It is unclear to me what this loan relates to and what rights may be afforded to this party, in particular, if it has security interests that rank ahead of those of the Core Note investors.
(d) The ability of Eleuthera to repay its increased loan amount of $2,097,328 at 12 June 2020 given its balance sheet as at 31 May 2020 shows a negative net asset position of $9,526,997.
91 Mr Tracy also provided a second supplementary expert opinion dated 14 September 2020. Mr Tracy's second supplementary expert opinion concerned the omission of a comma in the initial brief provided to Mr Tracy. By way of summary, the initial brief set out that the Core Notes brochure had stated: "[t]he assets are … made up of Australian real estate assets held by Mayfair 101 Group entities, and cash". However, in fact, the Core Notes brochure stated: "[t]he assets are … made up of Australian real estate, assets held by Mayfair 101 Group entities, and cash". That is, in the initial brief, a comma should have appeared after the words "Australian real estate".
92 In respect of this issue, Mr Tracy's second supplementary expert opinion stated at [3.4]:
I comment as follows:
(a) I have reviewed the Offer Document and acknowledge that a comma should be included as follows: "The assets are…made up of Australian real estate, assets held by Mayfair 101 Group entities, and cash…".
(b) The omission was a typographical error.
(c) The omission should be corrected, but it … do[es] not change my opinion expressed in my [earlier reports], in particular, that [the] security trustee (with one exception) does not hold direct first ranking asset security over the Australian real property assets, whether acquired or deposits have been paid, nor loans advanced, which are the primary assets of each trust …
(Emphasis added.)
93 Mr Tracy's second supplementary expert opinion stated at [3.5]-[3.6]:
I comment as follows:
(a) Based on the records made available to me and searches of the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), the security … includes security over the units held by Sunseeker Holdings and granted in favour of the Security Trustee, PAG [Holdings].
(b) I query whether, based on my experience in realising assets of a similar nature, units in an unlisted trust can be considered "tangible assets".
(c) The value of the units in each trust is directly referable to the value of the underlying Australian real property assets less … any prior ranking security interest registered over the relevant property, deposits paid on real property assets, the recoverable value of loans and other liabilities in the trust.
(d) [Mr Tracy had not changed his opinion that the] security trustee does not hold direct first ranking asset security over:
(i) the Australian real property assets which are the primary assets of a number of the trusts (with one exception); or
(ii) loans advanced which are the primary assets of JLUT.
(e) Based on the information made available to me, it is unclear if [the] security trustee has security over deposits paid for Australian real property assets. In my First Report I note the significant risk of forfeiture of deposits paid for failure to complete the real property transactions.
… I note that that it appears that in many instances that the security was put in place after [31 December 2019 and 20 March 2020 (Relevant Dates)] and sometime after each relevant property was acquired, deposits paid, or loans advanced …
The implication … is that, in many instances[,] at the time when the Core Note Investor funds were used to acquire and make deposits on Australian real property, Sunseeker Holdings had not yet entered into a Specific Security Deed (SSD) or registered its security over the units in the majority of trusts on the PPSR, meaning that its interests were likely to be unsecured at the Relevant Dates and all other dates leading up to at least the time of registration on the PPSR. Additionally, General Security Deeds (GSD) had also not yet been entered into as between the trustee of each trust and the Security Trustee … for the majority of the trusts.
(Emphasis added.)
94 Mr Mawhinney has not filed or pointed to any evidence which adequately responds to these issues.
95 Mr Tracy was cross-examined on the opinions expressed in his various reports. In the course of the cross-examination, Mr Tracy acknowledged that:
(a) he is not a valuer and he did not conduct a valuation of the assets held by the "Mayfair companies";
(b) he had not been provided with "profit and loss or balance sheet statements of the entities within the Mayfair Group";
(c) he was not able to say "with certainty" that there is a shortfall, or a discrepancy, between (i) the debt owed to the Core Notes investors and (ii) the value of the security held by the relevant security trustee. However, Mr Tracy noted that he had "significant concerns around the basis of an uplift factor of 4 per cent which [was] applied to the value of the properties as at 20 March" because, if that "uplift factor" was omitted, "then there becomes a deficiency to the Core Notes investors". (This "uplift factor" is referred to at [2.26(e)] of Mr Tracy's expert opinion dated 12 June 2020, which is extracted above.) Mr Tracy stated that, without that uplift, there would be a deficiency, of some $2.7 million to the Core Notes investors, assuming a full recovery on all other secured assets.
96 I should state here that the cross-examination of Mr Tracy did not diminish the force of the opinions expressed by Mr Tracy in his Expert Opinion which I accept. Those opinions were based on a good deal of documentation provided to Mr Tracy by ASIC and Mr Tracy's knowledge and experience. Mr Tracy's opinions as to whether there was security and the value of that security should be accepted, albeit with the qualification that Mr Tracy could not say "with certainty" that Core Notes investors would be in a position of deficit after the relevant assets were realised.