Jon Adgemis: The A$1.8 Billion Pub Empire That Collapsed

Former KPMG dealmaker Jon Adgemis founded Public Hospitality during the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly assembled a portfolio of more than 20 pubs across Sydney and Melbourne. In October 2025 he declared bankruptcy owing creditors more than A$1.8 billion — debt largely made up of personal guarantees on money he had borrowed to build out the portfolio — after the Australian Taxation Office pursued a $162 million tax bill and Deutsche Bank took control of five pub assets. Pitcher Partners was appointed trustee of his bankrupt estate by the Federal Court, and bankruptcy law ended his tenure as a company director.

The lesson: Personal guarantees turn a company's debt into a person's ruin — Adgemis borrowed against himself, so when the empire fell, there was no shelter.

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