Voluntary administrator upbeat about survival of Wodonga clinic as Tristar rooms sold off to aid creditors

The bulk-billing network of 29 clinics across Australia went into voluntary administration last month.

McGrathNicol Restructuring partner Matthew Caddy told the first meeting of creditors yesterday afternoon that total debt was more than $20 million

On the Border, Tristar's West Albury clinic closed recently with a doctor transferred to the Wodonga rooms in High Street.

Mr Caddy said there was "strong prospects" for the successful sale of the Wodonga business.

"The Wodonga clinic is in the top 10 clinics in terms of revenue performance for the last two years, so I think that will be viable and attractive as we go through the sales process," Mr Caddy said.

There has been 50 expressions of interest from potential purchasers in acquiring the whole portfolio or a cluster of clinics.

Financial data will be supplied to them and a sales process undertaken with Mr Caddy expecting binding offers will be put to suitors in late June or early July.

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He said it was too early to say how many cents in the dollar would be returned to creditors with the sale of clinics to be integral to determining a figure.

A second meeting of creditors will not be held until the offloading has occurred.

A committee of creditors, consisting of two employees, a doctor and an unsecured and secured financier, was formed at yesterday's meeting.

Overall, 70 out of more 250 creditors attended the online forum.

The failure of Tristar has not surprised one of the enterprise's former doctors Reno Riandito who raised the alarm about the financial state of the business in 2019..

"It's been building up since a long time ago," Dr Riandito said.

He said the business model of recruiting doctors from overseas had been cruelled by COVID.

Dr Riandito worked for Tristar at Geelong and the now defunct Wangaratta clinic before leaving after not being paid for his services.

He now works at Gateway Health in Wangaratta and says the loss of more Tristar clinics would be a big blow to regional areas where bulk-billing is scarce.

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