Almost a year after Corporate Travel (CT) was suspended from trading on the Australian share market, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners, one of its largest shareholders, has written down its investment in the embattled company to zero. Corporate Travel is a travel management firm. It assists businesses with their travel arrangements. Bennelong informed clients this week that the June decision stemmed from high uncertainty regarding the company’s outlook and valuation, particularly after CT’s revelation last August of auditor-identified reporting issues requiring account restatement.
The travel agent is currently in critical discussions to repay the British government approximately £128 million ($246 billion AUD) in overcharged hotel booking fees. Failure to secure an agreement for staggered repayments could lead to insolvency. Simultaneously, CT awaits a highly qualified audit from Deloitte, a crucial step toward its hopeful re-listing on the ASX. The company faces an August 31 deadline to lodge its accounts, or risk automatic delisting. Bennelong noted CT has repeatedly issued optimistic statements and missed deadlines, with expanding issues.
Bennelong’s long-held position in Corporate Travel severely impacted its returns, with the Australian equities fund lagging its benchmark by 25.4 per cent in the 2026 financial year, eroding 17 years of market-leading performance. This period saw portfolio manager Brad Clibborn resign in March. While Bennelong’s flagship fund rebounded 5.3 per cent in the June quarter, the firm noted this would have been 8.6 per cent without the drag of CT. Other major shareholders, including Lennox Capital Partners, ECP Asset Management, Forager Funds Management, Hearts & Minds Investments, and Firetrail Investments, have similarly written down or written off their valuations, reflecting broad market scepticism.
