Out: Ian Ballis
By Michelle Herbison
MILL Markets administrators have sacked former boss Ian Ballis.
The Independent revealed in August that Sellers Muldoon Benton had taken control over the Mill Markets business and its properties operating at Mackey St, North Geelong, on the Bellarine Hwy, Newcomb, and at Daylesford and Ballarat.
Administrator Ken Sellers said he hoped negotiations with “a number of parties” to sell the business and properties could finalise within a fortnight.
“(Mr Ballis) has ceased being an employee and as a consequence he won’t have keys or pass codes or anything like that,” Mr Sellers said.
“It depends on exactly what happens. We’re hopeful of selling pretty much all of the businesses then the properties can either get sold as part of that sale or subsequent.
“A number of parties are all offering slightly different permutations. Some are interested in the business and properties and some just the businesses.
“We’ll look at the deal which works best for us financially.”
Mr Sellers was confident the Mill Markets businesses could continue to trade as they were without shutting.
“I’m pretty sure that’s definitely not going to be the case.”
Australian Securities and Investment Commission appointed Seller Muldoon Benton as administrator on July 3 to Mr Ballis’s companies Geelong Markets and Daramking.
The administator is seeking to reclaim the companies’ debt owed to ANZ bank.
Mr Ballis was the sole director of both companies.
He took over Geelong Markets from Edwin Dimmick in 2007, co-directing with Ian Begley for the first month.
Mr Ballis also ran three other companies as a sole director of Geelong Plant 5 and Newcomb Mill and co-director of Valley Mills with Basil Macula.
Mr Ballis paid $5.1 million for the two Geelong properties.
Mr Sellers said in August that he was assessing a number of expressions of interest in the business.
Mr Ballis told the Independent in August that it was “mistaken” about his business dealings.
“Don’t listen to too many rumours,” he said.
