21-484: Qintex Limited was an Australian financial services company founded on April 1, 1975, as Takeovers, Equities & Management Securities (TEAM). It was renamed Qintex Limited and came to prominence in 1986, collapsing five years later in 1991. Its main shareholder and managing director was Christopher Skase . At its peak, Qintex owned interests in Channel 7 , Mirage Resorts, Hardy Brothers jewellery retail concern and
42-465: A debt payment. The Australian Stock Exchange suspended Qintex's stock shortly after when the company failed to respond to questions of its financial health. A month later, in November 1989, Qintex Ltd went into receivership with debts of over A$ 1.9 billion. The collapse happened just six weeks after the company lost a bid to acquire MGM/UA studios for A$ 1.5 billion. Its collapse was prompted by what
63-503: A new business empire, and continued to live in a multimillion-dollar mansion. In one incident, television personality Andrew Denton organized a public subscription to hire a bounty hunter to kidnap Skase. However, after raising $ 250,000 the idea was called off on legal advice. In May 1998, the Australian government canceled Skase's passport. Skase was ordered to leave Majorca by 23 July, but lodged an appeal. The extradition process
84-654: A night in jail. However, he was subsequently released and allowed to regain his passport. He promptly fled the country. His discovery on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1991 by the Sydney Morning Herald sparked intense media interest. In 1994, the Australian Securities Commission assembled a case against Skase, with the assistance of former Skase associate Lawrence Van der Plaat, and began to chase him in earnest. Throughout
105-672: A number of other businesses. Its headquarters was in Brisbane , Australia. Qintex was established in 1975 by Christopher Skase and his partners. Skase expanded the company substantially, initially into retail with investments in Hardy Bros and car dealer Nettlefolds. Qintex also expanded into property development. In 1984, Qintex bought television station TVQ -0 in Brisbane . Later Qintex purchased HSV-7 and ATN -7 in Melbourne and Sydney from John Fairfax & Sons . In 1986,
126-825: A reported cost of $ 100 million, the resort was officially opened in October 1987, and has been said to have transformed Port Douglas "from a sleepy far-north Queensland seaside town into a sophisticated tropical playground for the rich and famous." Guests known to have stayed at the resort include former President of the United States Bill Clinton and his wife, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , Hollywood stars Kate Hudson , Matthew McConaughey , Leonardo DiCaprio , Tom Hanks and John Travolta , opera singer Luciano Pavarotti , supermodel Claudia Schiffer , and rock singer Mick Jagger and his ex-wife, model Jerry Hall . In 2004,
147-530: Is adjacent to Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas. At its core is a group of multistorey buildings flanked by a "sprawling network" of 10 "lagoons". The site also includes tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, the Kaia day spa and a gymnasium. Typically the resort hosts about 700 guests, and at peak times around 900. Onsite dining is headed up by the restaurant Harrisons, which is operated by chef-owner Spencer Patrick. Opened in central Port Douglas in 2007, it relocated to
168-631: Is based on an invented plot to kidnap Christopher Skase in Majorca. TISM bassist Jock Cheese's solo album Platter features the song "Totally Addicted to Skase", whose title parodies " Addicted to Bass ", about the media coverage of the chase for Skase. Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas , is a seaside resort hotel on Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas , Far North Queensland , Australia. Developed by businessman Christopher Skase at
189-578: The bankrupt company's assets. Christopher Skase Christopher Charles Skase (18 September 1948 – 5 August 2001) was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives , after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Majorca , Spain. Skase was born into a wealthy Melbourne family. His father was Charles Skase, 1948 winner of the Melbourne Sun-Aria , and prominent on-air personality on radio station 3DB , including his role as star of
210-437: The 1990s, successive Australian governments, in combination with Max Donnelly, attempted to have Skase extradited from Spain, with no success. Skase claimed that he was unable to travel due to a life-threatening lung condition. This was disputed by the Australian government, who released a video filmed by some Australian tourists, which featured Skase walking easily on a local beach. During this period, Skase also attempted to build
231-633: The Australian government and Donnelly were starting to grow weary of the large costs of continuing the chase for Skase with $ 3 million having been spent. Nevertheless, there was renewed speculation in January that Skase would soon be deported from Spain – in which case it would have been legally possible to bring him back to Australia, with which Dominica had an extradition treaty. However, he became ill and died of stomach cancer in Majorca on 5 August 2001, before any further proceedings had taken place. A satirical 2001 film, Let's Get Skase ,
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#1732790147314252-624: The company invested in an entertainment company named Qintex Entertainment (today Sonar Entertainment ), formed by the merger of American studios Hal Roach Studios and Robert Halmi Incorporated. In 1989, the company was struggling to meet interest payments and sold its share in Mirage Resorts for in excess of $ 433 million. The first signs of collapse showed in October 1989, when the American subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Qintex failed to provide financing for
273-630: The directors reported the incident to the Australian Securities Commission . The creditors moved in, and Qintex collapsed. Skase was forced to sell the Seven Network for a tiny portion of what he had paid for it. In the end, Skase was more than $ 700 million in debt. He began to parcel up his remaining wealth, including more than $ 900,000 worth of antiques and furniture. He was charged with improperly using his position to obtain management fees, briefly arrested and spent
294-450: The international tourist map. Skase became known for his displays of wealth, with a lavish 40th birthday party in 1988, and a company Christmas party that cost $ 450,000. In one particular incident, he had his private jet fly from Port Douglas to Melbourne to pick up a dress for his wife, Pixie. By 1989, interest rates had risen, an attempt to buy the MGM film studios fell through, and Skase
315-728: The late 1980s, the Qintex group was worth A$ 1.5 billion. Skase owned five resorts as well as interests in the Seven television network and the Brisbane Bears football club. On the eve of the 1990 economic recession, his two Mirage resorts in Queensland were among the largest in the country and one of them, the Mirage Port Douglas Resort , played a key role in putting the formerly small town of Port Douglas on
336-424: The live-to-air program, The Happy Gang , in the 1950s. Skase was educated at Malvern and Caulfield Grammar Schools . Skase began his career as a stockbroker , but soon became a finance journalist instead, working at The Sun News-Pictorial . In 1975 he purchased Qintex , a small Tasmanian company. Skase slowly developed Qintex and, over several years, turned it into one of Australia's larger corporations. By
357-459: The missing money. At a meeting in October, Skase began to fall out with the Qintex board. He demanded that the board pay $ 13.5 million to a private company that he owned. The board refused to ratify the payment, but soon discovered that the payment had already been made. Skase then demanded the board give him a pay rise, and threatened to resign if he did not receive it. The board refused, with several members themselves threatening to resign. One of
378-594: The resort began a major refurbishment program, and in 2011 it was purchased by Melbourne property developer David Marriner and Chinese investor the Fullshare Group for $ 35 million. In 2013, Marriner sold his shareholding to the Fullshare Group. Another major redevelopment commenced in May 2015. It had a budget of $ 43 million and was completed in August 2016. The resort's 147 ha (360 acres) site
399-477: Was forced to sell half of his resorts to Japanese investors. In the months that followed, it became clear that Skase and the Qintex group had overextended themselves. According to a 1998 report by ABC program Four Corners , Skase had begun obtaining and moving money into foreign bank accounts in July 1989. Despite efforts lasting more than a decade, Max Donnelly, the creditors' trustee, was unable to trace much of
420-524: Was later seen as an excessive amount of debt in the business. This coincided with very high interest rates that prevailed in 1989. When the company missed interest payments and was not able to renegotiate its position with the Commonwealth Bank , the bank appointed a receiver to the company. It was in 1991 that Qintex filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated , Bank-appointed receivers created Seven Network Limited in order to bundle together
441-550: Was still tied up in the courts when, the following month, he became a citizen of Dominica . At this point, numerous commentators suggested that the chase was over, and that there was nothing more that could be done to bring Skase back to Australia. Skase was married to Pixie Skase. She remained in exile in Dominica until returning to Melbourne in 2008. Pixie Skase died in Melbourne on 15 November 2024, aged 83. By 2001, both
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