ALLIED BRANDS TRYING DODGY INVESTMENT COMPANIES FOR BAILOUT CASH - ASX AND ASIC AGAIN INVOLVED

In addition to Elders Corporate and Leadenhall VRG, management at Allied Brands Ltd (ABQ) and executives tied to Korda Mentha have been trolling for money at the most dodgy money lenders in Australia. Desperate to get more operating capital, Allied Brands is now talking to Tricom Futures Services P/L.

Tricom has been the subject of numerous ASX complaints and ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. Recently the ASX Disciplinary Tribunal said of Tricom, "The Appeals Tribunal regards the actions of Tricom Futures as a serious contravention of the Operating Rules". What Tricom has been caught doing is "cooking the books". ABQ could teach them a thing or two about dodgy accounting.

Banned Tricom employee Peter Cameron is rumoured to be in on the scheme to secure more cash for Allied and sources inside claim he has been seen there with management. Cameron has been BANNED by ASIC and the ASX for stock manipulation of penny and illiquid shares, much like the situation at Allied Brands where shares are bid up at the close of the day. It's still being investigated by ASIC if his manipulations have extended to the bizarre trading pattern at Allied Brands Ltd.

And all while this nonsense is going on, executive management are attempting to lease new expensive cars from CARFLEET, already spending the recently-raised cash. CARFLEET is looking askance at the attempted finance of these new, unnecessary vehicles.

A big "hello" to all the blog readers at Korda Mentha. Note that your email is being tapped by your company, so send your tips from home!

ALLIED "MEGA DEAL" COLLAPSES, ANNOUNCES INSTEAD JUNK "PURCHASE" OF ANOTHER FAILED COFFEE SHOP CHAIN AND MORE CAPITAL RAISING FOR OPERATIONS

As reported in SMART COMPANY, the "big deal" that Allied Brands claimed was being negotiated has failed to materialise. Insiders report that financiers necessary for this "big deal" rejected the idea after reviewing the poor state of Allied Brands balance sheet, with cash still bleeding to support crashed operations. This has included Elders Corporate, which reportedly rejected the deal earlier in the week.

Instead, Allied Brands purchased the parallel coffee shop/homewares division of Freedom Furniture, Bayswiss. Freedom, a SUCCESSFUL company with a much better offering than Villa & Hut, was so anxious to divest these coffee shops that they GAVE THEM to Allied Brands for NOTHING! This a huge turnaround from 2003, when Freedom Management said that "Bayswiss is number one growth vehicle". From that to giving the stores away to Allied Brands, the franchise garbage collectors of Australia. But for the Allied Brands formula, which is designed to overcharge, squeeze, crush, intimidate, and churn the franchisees instead of servicing them, nuturing them, and growing them, a failed chain of coffee shops is ripe for the plucking. Wait until the Bayswiss franchisees find out how much Allied Brands is planning to "overcharge" them for rebranding their stores. It's called Franchisor Rape, mates. Enjoy it!

So immoral has Allied Brands become that places like the Southport School are now ashamed to be in the company of these directors.

And Allied, embarrassed by the collapse of the "big deal" that they were touting, is now spinning this Freedom Bayswiss deal as a "great thing". It's a great disaster, that's what it is.

Buy one overleveraged, failed concept (Villa & Hut's 26 stores), combine it with another 13 failed stores so burdening Freedom that they GAVE them to Allied Brands so that could get these cash burns off the Freedom books, and announce to the world about your "big score" of 13 more junk operations, sucking cash from the company.

It's vintage Peter Graham bullshit. Staff can't even walk around the offices at the Gold Coast there's so much bullshit in the hallways. This will make the second "big deal" that Allied Brands has failed to close (the first being the insane Wendy's acquisition, which couldn't be funded even with money flying out of the banks).

The final hoot is Shane Radbone's claim that Allied Brands will be the home of "entrepreneurs who don't know how to franchise". IT ALREADY IS HOME TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO FRANCHISE! Baskin Robbins failed operations (over a 15 year period) are testament to this failure!

Baskin Robbins promised 200+ locations in 2004. The number has hovered in the 80's for a dozen years or more, with more stores being lost just these last few weeks. When will Allied Brands learn how to franchise???

As always, victims are the franchisees for the Freedom/Bayswiss locations who will be told that they are "required" to rebrand and accept massive pricing increases from Allied Brands. The same immoral strategy that Radbone is now calling the "Franchise Services Division". The only service is to the pockets of select Allied Brands management, with the franchisees left to rot.

ALLIED BRANDS FAILS TO PROVIDE "FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH" TO BASKIN ROBBINS FRANCHISEES -NOW FIVE MONTHS!

Baskin Robbins franchisees have written to confirm that Allied Brands, despite contractual obligations to franchisees and Baskin Robbins USA, have failed to provide the FLAVOR OF THE MONTH FOR FIVE MONTHS ! ! !

The FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH is the key to being different in the market for Baskin Robbins franchisees, and a programme going back SIXTY YEARS.

As noted in Blue Mau Mau, this programme at Baskin Robbins is one of the most effective consumer tools used by those in the food business.

While Allied Brands staff including Trent and Daniele were telling furphys to angry franchisees about the missing flavours the first couple months, they have now stopped, knowing how damaged front-line management is when they continually LIE to the franchisees. As a result franchisees inquiries on this subject are just ignored by everyone from Peter Graham to Lachlan McIntosh.

Both of these directors know how to embellish the truth as well, as the LAST ANNUAL REPORT can confirm.

This flavour shortage, now compounded with reports of only 20 flavours available to the franchisees as summer arrives, has angered franchisees across the country and forced two NSW franchisees out! 31 Flavours is only a dream.

Allied Brands is now trying to scrape up cash by pretending to buy another distressed franchise system. Elders Financial, originally said to be ready to provide this cash injection, is now rumoured to have run away from what their financial analysts could see revealed as flushing money down the dunny.

PETER GRAHAM - WHERE IS THE FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH WE DON'T GET ANYMORE?

TRADING HALT NOW BECOMES ASX SUSPENSION FROM QUOTATION - DUE DILIGENCE REVEALING MASSIVE PROBLEMS TO NEW SUCKER-INVESTORS!

ALLIED BRANDS LTD. on Monday asked for a "trading halt" pending an announcement on an acquisition - the announcement to be made by open of trading this morning.

Little surprise to those inside the company that this was another LIE by the company, and now the ASX has suspended quotation in the shares. The company says they need "more time".

Over 2800 "hits" on this website since Sunday night indicates that the corrupt actions of this company and parent Dunkin Brands are getting widespread coverage and making it all but impossible for ABQ to continue the pyramid-type actions they have been engaged in. The widespread flight by Baskin Robbins and Cookie Man franchisees, as well as the continued CASH BURN by ABQ (with huge bonuses being paid to non-performing management) is now seriously being investigated.

The ASX already has several concurrent investigations underway, as does the ASIC.

The biggest question - why was so much cash needed a few months ago to buy an all-but-bankrupt "Villa & Hut"? Where did all the cash REALLY go? And when is the company going to disclose the full nature of legal actions against Peter Graham & David Graham, for which the Allied Brands has massive liability?

More lies by Allied Brands, - is anyone surprised?

ALLIED BRANDS CALLS TRADING HALT FOR "NEW ACQUISITION"

ALLIED BRANDS (ABQ) has asked the ASX for a trading halt while it can work out details of a proposed acquisition.

Details of the acquisition strategy and their use of Korda Mentha can be found here:

"INSIDE RETAILING" DETAILS ALLIED BRANDS/KORDA MENTHA SCAM HERE

Wonder if they've spoken to the ripped-off ex-owners of "Awesome Water".

Had an interesting chat with several staff at Leadenhall VRG in Adelaide this arvo. They were very chatty indeed. . .

More soon. ..

AND THE ALLIED SHAREPRICE COLLAPSE CONTINUES. . .

A SUITABLE PUNISHMENT FOR LIARS, AND THOSE THAT EMPLOY OR INVEST IN THEM.

ALLIED BRANDS MANAGING DIRECTOR TIED TO DISGRACED COLLAPSE OF SUPER GP - CALLED LIAR BY QUEENSLAND PREMIER!

The spectacular collapse of the Gold Coast SuperGP race this coming weekend has tied disgraced Allied Brands Ltd. (ABQ) Managing Director Peter Graham to fired former MP Terry Mackenroth and seen both accused of lying to the Queensland Government by Premier Anna Bligh.

Graham, who has overseen Allied Brands while it is actively investigated for insolvent trading, sale of visas & dud franchises to Korean and Chinese migrants, and ASX violations related to continuous disclosure, is a director alongside Mackenroth on the Gold Coast Indy Partnership, the organisation now implicated in the Super GP fiasco and loss of millions in state funds.

Bligh is quoted in THE AUSTRALIAN as saying

"It would seem that the A1GP simply lied, that they deliberately misled. Right up until Friday they were giving assurances that this race would go ahead," she told reporters."

"When you're dealing with people like this, it's very hard"

"These are people who frankly I think acted in bad faith, and I would recommend anybody else who might be dealing with them anywhere else in the world to take great caution"

"These are not people you can trust."

Baskin Robbins, Cookie Man, Awesome Water franchisees along with Allied Brands shareholders would agree - Bad Faith is a standard of operation for Allied Brands.

The SuperGP website still claims the race begins "In 2 Days".

The Queensland Police and Queensland State Auditor have opened a criminal investigation into the collapse of this event, and possible criminal charges against those responsible including the board and directors, apparently including director Peter Graham. Mackenroth has already been bounced from the board in disgrace.

Perhaps this will spur the current investigations into getting some of these crooked companies shut down.

Peter Graham has been actively attempting to cash out of Allied Brands (according to filed ASX reports) since the last annual report showed a massive miss despite his assurances of profits to the market and press.