It is almost an axiom in Australia that you can’t lose money in real estate. So how did Australia’s largest buyers agency Dashdot go from targeting $20 million a year in revenue to voluntary liquidation?
It’s a question I mulled as I put together this 4,000-word deep dive into the company, its almost unbelievable origin story (charismatic co-founder Glenn ‘Goose’ McGrath is self-confessed former drug addict who spent a stint homeless), its rapid success and swift implosion. The deep dive was based on more than a dozen interviews with clients, staff and the liquidator Teneo.
There are no easy answers. A creditors’ report lodged late last week shows the business collapsed owing $16.57 million, the bulk of that — more than $10.5 million — to almost 700 Australians who paid tens of thousands of dollars in fees upfront for Dashdot to help them build out investment property portfolios.
With only $749 in the bank and realisable assets of just $70,000, McGrath admits the chances of them recovering these funds is remote.
