Hamilton Locke is pleased to have advised Thomas Birch and Jeremy Nipps of Cor Cordis as the voluntary administrators of the Vitrinite Group, which entered insolvency in February 2026 with over $400 million in liabilities.
Queensland’s Bowen Basin. Following various financial and operational challenges including increased mining costs and declining coal prices, the voluntary administrators were appointed across the Vitrinite Group alongside Richard Tucker and David Johnstone of KordaMentha, as the receivers and managers of certain key entities within the Group.
The receivers conducted a successful competitive sale and recapitalisation process in respect of the Group, achieving a sale of the main assets of Vitrinite Pty Ltd to Crossfield Energy Pty Ltd for circa $220 million. The transaction structure included the transfer of shares in key asset holding subsidiaries by way of a pooled deed of company arrangement. Hamilton Locke advised the deed administrators throughout the implementation of the DOCA and continues to assist the liquidators on post-completion matters.
Hamilton Locke extends our congratulations to all parties involved in completing this significant transaction, which has secured a better return to creditors overall and the prospect of renewed operations at the Vulcan Mine. All parties and their respective legal counsel worked collaboratively to achieve the result.
The Hamilton Locke team was led by Partner Nicholas Edwards with assistance from Special Counsel Katherine McMenamin, Senior Associate Nimrod Amanuel and Graduate Alexandra Crowhurst from the R&I Team and also support from Partner Chris Hood and Lawyer Melissa Catto from the Litigation team.