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Former Sydney Olympic boss faces $70m business lawsuit. Former Sydney Olympic FC president Damon Hanlin is facing a new legal battle over the $70 million sale of his crane business, with the buyer alleging it was misled by fabricated financial projections, undisclosed tax liabilities and a forged distribution agreement. The lawsuit, filed by LVL80 Cranes in the NSW Supreme Court, concerns the sale of assets belonging to Titan Cranes in May 2025. Hanlin, Titan and advisory firm Pitcher Partners have denied the allegations. Discover more Read Newspapers Read Local News The case adds to Hanlin's existing legal troubles, including separate proceedings alleging a long-running scheme to defraud the Australian Taxation Office of almost $100 million. Those allegations have not been established in court. Buyer alleges misleading financial information. LVL80 Cranes, headed by construction lawyer Kelvin Liew, alleges Titan's revenue forecasts included fictitious accruals and that the business's financial position was misrepresented during the sale process. The buyer also claims the valuation failed to account adequately for unpaid tax liabilities, creating a misleading picture of Titan's solvency and its capacity to meet ongoing obligations. According to LVL80's court filings, Titan paid approximately $11 million in outstanding taxes and interest only after the transaction had been completed. The buyer is also pursuing negligence claims against Pitcher Partners, alleging the advisory firm failed to identify material misrepresentations during its due diligence work. Pitcher Partners has disputed the allegations. The firm said its draft reports identified unpaid tax and superannuation liabilities, but maintained that its work was not a payroll audit and did not cover matters normally included in a taxation due diligence review. Alleged forged crane distribution agreement. One of the most serious allegations concerns a document said to have been supplied by Titan from crane manufacturer JASO. LVL80 alleges the document promised exclusive distribution rights for JASO crane parts but was a forgery. The buyer claims JASO's chief executive told Liew in March that he knew nothing about the agreement and that, as chief executive at the time, he would have needed to sign such an arrangement personally. Discover more Explore History Read Travel Guides Read Daily News Hanlin and Titan deny the allegations, including claims that the document was forged or purported to have been issued under JASO's authority. LVL80 further alleges Hanlin used threats and financial pressure to push the buyer into agreements with companies he controlled. In his court defence, Hanlin denied making threats. He said delays in transferring contracts resulted from the number of customer agreements that needed to be negotiated and documented. He has also claimed LVL80 breached its contractual obligations and said he had been reluctant to sell Titan for less than $100 million. Police called after alleged confrontation. The lawsuit follows an alleged confrontation between Hanlin and Liew at LVL80's Sydney offices earlier this year. According to sources cited by the Australian Financial Review, Hanlin arrived at the business and interrupted a senior leadership meeting. The sources alleged that he made threatening remarks to Liew and refused to leave for about 10 minutes before police were called. NSW Police confirmed officers attended the business in May after receiving a report that a 37-year-old man had allegedly been intimidated by a 50-year-old man. Police said no further action was required. Discover more Greek News Subscription Greece Travel Guide Greek Lifestyle Blog Liew declined to comment. Hanlin's lawyer said the events did not occur as described. Sydney Olympic FC and Central Coast Mariners. The legal action comes after Hanlin stepped down as president of Sydney Olympic FC late last year. The Greek Australian football club has faced internal tensions, including disputes involving supporters and club leadership. Hanlin subsequently failed in a bid to take over the Central Coast Mariners in January. Australian Professional Leagues chair Stephen Conroy previously said the league had sought information from Hanlin about legal proceedings as part of its vetting process. The APL said information had not been provided by the end of last year despite outstanding requests. Separate alleged tax fraud proceedings. Hanlin is also defending a separate case brought by liquidator Darren Vardy over an alleged labour-hire scheme said to have diverted money intended for PAYG tax over approximately 14 years. The proceedings allege Titan, Hanlin and former insolvency practitioner Sam Henderson were involved in a scheme that cost the tax office almost $100 million. The allegations include claims that labour-hire and payroll companies used nominal directors to facilitate the arrangement. Henderson was found dead in a North Sydney hotel room in 2023. Hanlin's lawyers are due in court in the separate matter to seek the striking out of parts of the claim on the grounds that they lack sufficient particulars. The LVL80 case is next scheduled for a hearing in December. All allegations remain allegations unless and until established in court. Hanlin, Titan Cranes and Pitcher Partners deny the claims made against them. Contact its newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on Google News and Apple News.

Pitcher Partners adds six new partners across offices and practices. 03 July 2026 Consultancy.com.au Accounting and consulting firm Pitcher Partners has added six new partners across the country, including two in Sydney and one each in Newcastle, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Tax advisors Elizabeth Jools and Juliana Kee have both been promoted in Sydney after roughly a decade each at the firm, having earlier spent time at KPMG and Moore Stephens, while Newcastle-based private client adviser Bruce Grieve joined from Bentleys in 2024. In addition, Levi Holdsworth (private business & family advisory), Jack Mackintosh (business advisory & assurance), and Alex Pollock (corporate finance), have been bumped up in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane, also after around a decade apiece at Pitcher Partners. The firm stated: "Across five practices and five cities, these appointments reflect our commitment to developing professionals who understand that the most valuable thing an advisor can offer goes well beyond technical expertise, extending to a genuine and personal engagement with the challenges, opportunities and concerns that matter most to the people and businesses they serve." Elizabeth Jools Macquarie and UNSW commerce & accounting graduates, Jools, who also earned a law degree, joined Pitcher Partners in 2015 after spending an earlier eight years at KPMG. while Kee, who has since gained a taxation masters from the University of Sydney, likewise joined the firm's local tax practice in the same year after close to five years at merger partner Moore Stephens. Jools took the opportunity of her ascension to partner to throw some shade at her former employer; "When I came across it was like I found my home and my purpose," she said. "People were genuine, there was a real personal touch, and you felt it immediately. At a big firm the focus can shift very quickly to revenue, and you lose that culture, but at Pitcher you simply do not." Juliana Kee A per the firm, Jools, who specialises in corporate tax with a particular focus on cross-border advisory and compliance, was drawn to tax precisely because it sat at the intersection of the two disciplines she wanted to pursue, with Kee meanwhile specialising in financial services taxation and M&A advisory after having actively pursued the discipline at the firm upon graduation. "I was one of the very few cadets who specifically requested a tax role," Kee said. "I don't think they were necessarily looking at the time, but they interviewed me and here I am, and I have a client who has marked every milestone with me since I started, from graduating my bachelor's degree through to my CA, my master's, getting engaged, getting married, and having a baby." Jack Mackintosh An internal subject matter expert for mandatory sustainability reporting, newly-appointed business advisory & assurance partner Jack Mackintosh is another to have joined Pitcher Partners upon graduation, in 2014 following a commerce degree from the University of Melbourne. He later spent eighteen months checking out RSM in Canada, before boomeranging back to Pitcher in 2023. As per the firm: "Jack is an experienced generalist with specialist depth across audit and assurance, financial reporting, technical accounting, sustainability reporting and taxation services. He has supported private businesses, public companies and not-for-profit organisations with a broad range of audit and advisory services throughout his career in Australia and North America." Bruce Grieve Grieve's path to private client advisory partner in Pitcher's Newcastle & Hunter branch is notably different from his fellow promotees, having only joined the firm in mid-2024 after six years between Bentleys and a pair of local financial services boutiques and an earlier decade-and-a-half in financial planning in South Africa, where he graduated with a commerce degree in 2001. Pitcher Partners: "With deep knowledge in wealth management and behavioural finance, Bruce crafts financial plans that leverage key factors to help clients meet their goals. His clientele is diverse, encompassing professionals, business owners, and successful families, all benefiting from his comprehensive financial planning and wealth management services tailored to their unique needs." Levi Holdsworth Meanwhile, Levi Holdsworth, now a private business & family advisory principal in Adelaide (differing corporate structures among the mid-tiers in different states often means varying titles with the same level of seniority), and newly-promoted Brisbane corporate finance partner Alex Pollock have both spent the majority of their careers at Pitcher partners, after earlier spells elsewhere. Holdsworth discussed his experience growing up in an SMB environment; "My father did not experience too many lows, but I understood from watching him that business does not stop at five o'clock. The clients I work with are not clocking off with their employees. They are going home thinking about what tomorrow looks like, and whether they can fulfil the next contract." Alex Pollock Holdsworth, who works with HNWIs, family offices, entrepreneurial start-ups, and SMBs in industries such as property and hospitality joined in 2017 following an earlier commerce degree at La Trobe, while due diligence, valuations, and deals specialist Pollock completed his commerce degree at the University of Queensland and joined the firm's Brisbane branch in the same year. On Pollock, Pitcher Partners stated: "Alex began his career in audit, spending eight years in that discipline before transitioning to corporate finance. He now advises clients across the full spectrum of buy- and sell-side activity, from ASX-listed and private equity-backed corporates conducting diligence on acquisition targets through to founder-led businesses preparing for or managing a sale."