DG Corp’s acquisition of a Perth site once earmarked for a $30 million hotel has hit a snag, with the property’s mortgage being tied to a company in the British Virgin Islands.
DG Corp’s acquisition of a Perth site once earmarked for a $30 million hotel has hit a snag, with the property’s mortgage being tied to a company in the British Virgin Islands.
BC West Perth, owned by Melbourne developer Martyn Barnes, bought 959 Wellington Street for $2.97 million in 2018, RP data shows.
The Victoria-based company received approval to build a boutique, 16-storey, 129-room hotel on the site in 2019, with the project estimated to cost $30 million.
But the corner site in West Perth was put back on the market in 2024, after Grant Thornton partners David Hodgson and Andrew Hewitt were appointed as receivers and managers of the property the year prior.
In a writ obtained by Business News, Mr Hodgson and Mr Hewitt named the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands (British) and the Registrar of Titles WA as defendants in their pursuit to finalise the sale of 959 Wellington Street to DG Corp.
Kaplink, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), was recorded as the mortgagee of the West Perth property, according to the writ.
The writ said Kaplink appointed the Grant Thornton partners as receivers and managers of the property after BC West Perth failed to repay $6 million by mid-2023.
A previous court judgment revealed the receivers found a buyer in DG Corp, owned by Francesco Di Latte, with the site to be sold for $2.2 million.
However, Kaplink became unable to discharge the mortgage after it was deregistered from the BVI register of companies.
Kaplink was deregistered since May 2024 for failing to pay annual fees, but its deregistration was only discovered a day before the sale was due to settle, the receivers claim in the writ.
The settlement of the property’s sale to DG Corp has been extended to June 12.
In the writ, the receivers seek orders for the WA registrar of titles to cancel the mortgage over the West Perth site and issue a substituted certificate of title.
The receivers’ claim against the BVI Attorney General involves an order for the property to be sold as per the sale contract with DG Corp.
BC West Perth entered liquidation in December 2025.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of WA found Mr Hodgson and Mr Hewitt’s powers as receivers and managers would not be impacted by the company’s liquidation.
WA Supreme Court Justice Jenni Hill also found Kaplink’s deregistration should not affect Mr Hodgson and Mr Hewitt as receivers of the West Perth property, despite Kaplink appointing the pair as receivers and managers.
