Collapsed international cannabis operator Cannim has officially been placed into liquidation following a failed sales process, seeing its myriad of creditors vie for their share of the tens of millions of dollars now reportedly outstanding. 

While creditors in Australia are now facing an uphill battle to recover their lost investments, with liquidators warning them not to expect any returns unless recovery actions are successful, the company’s UK operations have been all but abandoned. 

Creditors in the UK now face the added challenge of navigating multiple jurisdictions and local laws, making the pursuit of asset recovery even more problematic, given that its UK entities are outside of the scope of the Australian entities’ liquidation process. 

Meanwhile, legal challenges continue to stack up. Liquidators have indicated they will seek court-ordered public examinations of ‘directors, advisors, subsidiary officers, professional advisers’ within 1-3 months, while UK-based creditors have been forced to explore their own enforcement routes. 

Jade Proudman, the former owner of Savage Cabbage who holds a £137,115 employment tribunal judgment against Savage Cabbage Limited, has filed a formal complaint with the UK Insolvency Service alleging director misconduct. The complaint, submitted on January 7, targets the UK entities that remain ‘Active’ on Companies House but outside the Australian liquidation.

Proudman also faces potential home repossession within weeks, having relied on written assurances from Cannim’s Chief Commercial Officer in October 2023 that her role was ‘permanent’ and that she would receive ‘lump sum payments over the next 18 months’, representations made to her mortgage lender. 

She was dismissed with immediate effect 11 months later, and following a court ruling of unfair dismissal, the UK Department for Business and Trade has separately initiated enforcement action for non-payment of the tribunal award.

Liquidation and recover actions 

According to a circular published by the appointed administrators Olvera Advisors on February 05, seen by Business of Cannabis, Rajiv Goyal and Neil Robert Cussen of Olvera Advisors were appointed liquidators of Cannim Group Pty and Cannim Australia Pty on January 30 following a creditors vote to wind up the companies. 

After entering into administration in October 2025, the vote to put the company into liquidation marks the final stage of its insolvency, meaning that a sale or rescue is now no-longer possible, and it’s assets will be sold off to recover funds owed to creditors. 

It follows a failed sales process, with Cannabiz.au reporting that despite initial interest, once prospective buyers looked more closely at the financials and saw that it was a fundamentally unprofitable business, any interest quickly faded. 

The circular also states that receivers appointed by secured creditor Finstro Securities ‘do not expect a surplus to be returned to the liquidation after realisation of the Companies’ assets,’ meaning ‘a dividend to unsecured creditors is therefore dependent upon the success of recovery actions undertaken by the Liquidators.’

According to the liquidators’ January 21 report, secured creditor Finstro is owed approximately A$4m, unsecured creditors total approximately A$28m, and employee entitlements exceed $400,000. 

A$32m in potentially recoverable assets

The liquidators have identified more than A$32m in potentially recoverable transactions across six categories of statutory claims.

Critically, the largest of these categories involves more than A$9m in ‘advances made to related entities for no commercial benefit,’ which the liquidators classify as uncommercial transactions under section 588FB of the Corporations Act.

Two major property transactions are also being investigated as potential creditor-defeating dispositions, transactions potentially designed to move assets out of creditors’ reach. 

A Jamaican property held by subsidiary Jamaica Red Moon Ltd was sold for US$1.5m against a listing price of US$6.3m, with the liquidators’ January 21 report estimating a potential $10m recovery. 

Separately, two Queensland properties at Wills Road and Rocky Gully Road, Coominya, were sold for A$1.75m, with the liquidators noting that ‘further investigation is required into the market value at the time of disposal and remittance of sale proceeds to a family trust.’

The circular also identifies A$456,220 in ‘unreasonable director-related transactions’ involving ‘personal credit card payments’ and benefits arising from undervalued property disposals, alongside A$465,644 in potential unfair preference payments to the Australian Tax Office within the statutory relation-back period.

The liquidators state that ‘indicators of insolvency from at least August 2024’ support potential insolvent trading claims against directors, though these claims remain ‘to be quantified.’

The scale and nature of these claims suggest a serious mismanagement of company funds. Directors advanced more than A$9m to related entities without commercial justification during a period when liquidators say the companies were likely already insolvent. 

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What now?

The appointed liquidators will issue formal demand letters within 2-6 months and commence legal proceedings within 4-8 months, while public examinations of ‘directors, advisors, subsidiary officers, professional advisers’ are planned within 1-3 months, according to the February circular. 

These court-ordered examinations will compel individuals to answer questions under oath about the companies’ affairs and the transactions under investigation.

Cross-border legal recovery actions targeting the Jamaican property sale are expected to take 6-12 months. The January report notes that Jamaica’s adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law means ‘recognition of an Australian Liquidator is achievable and provides a direct pathway to recover value for creditors.’ 

Olvera has preserved approximately 1.3 terabytes of evidence through forensic imaging and is engaging local counsel in Jamaica for recognition proceedings.

It has now also filed reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission under section 438D of the Corporations Act, alleging breaches of director duties, including an ‘off-market transfer of a convertible note without the authorisation of the Administrators or the Courts.’

The liquidators are required to provide creditors with an updated report within three months of their January 30 appointment. They are in discussions with the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme and commercial litigation funders to finance investigations and proceedings, with employee entitlements being processed through FEG to ‘support the prompt payment of outstanding employee entitlements.’

UK entities ‘abandoned’ say creditors 

While Australian regulators and liquidators pursue these claims, three UK subsidiaries remain outside the formal insolvency proceedings. 

Cannim Limited, Savage Cabbage Limited, and Setala Limited all maintain ‘Active’ status on the Companies House register. According to the liquidators, they have ‘no oversight’ of these UK entities, despite their parent companies being in liquidation.

This jurisdictional void has left UK creditors pursuing separate enforcement routes through British authorities, with limited success.

Among them is Jade Proudman, the former owner of Savage Cabbage. Since winning her £137,115 unfair dismissal award in November, Proudman has pursued multiple enforcement routes as the judgment remains unpaid.

On January 7, she filed a formal complaint with the UK Insolvency Service alleging director misconduct. The Service, which can investigate and potentially disqualify directors of ‘active’ companies, acknowledged the complaint but warned its investigations are confidential with no guaranteed updates or outcomes.

Separately, on January 14, the UK Department for Business and Trade’s Employment Tribunal Financial Penalty Team issued a warning notice to Savage Cabbage Limited for non-payment of the tribunal award. 

According to correspondence seen by Business of Cannabis, the department will automatically issue a penalty notice if the award remains unpaid after 28 days and may publicly name the company for non-compliance. That deadline falls on February 11.

The enforcement challenge is compounded by revelations in documents seen by Business of Cannabis that Cannim made specific written representations about Proudman’s employment to facilitate her mortgage application, representations that now appear questionable given her swift dismissal.

In an October 2023 letter to Proudman’s mortgage advisor, Cannim’s Chief Commercial Officer, Stuart Marsh, confirmed her role was ‘crucial’ and ‘permanent,’ stating she would ‘receive lump sum payments over the next 18 months’ under the share purchase agreement. The letter included ‘regular performance reviews conducted every 12 months’ as evidence of job security.

Proudman was dismissed with immediate effect eleven months later. She now faces potential home repossession within eight weeks, having relied on Cannim’s written assurances to secure the mortgage.

Proudman has also lodged a £7.9m claim with the Australian liquidators relating to the allegedly unpaid share purchase agreement, though, as a creditor of UK entities outside the liquidation scope, her ability to access any Australian recoveries remains unclear.

John Worton, Cannim’s founder, remains listed as a director of both Savage Cabbage Limited and Cannim Limited on the Companies House register. He was appointed director of Savage Cabbage on September 3, 2024, one day before Proudman’s dismissal, and continues to hold the position despite the Australian parent’s liquidation. 

Under UK company law, directors retain legal obligations, including filing requirements, regardless of a parent company’s foreign insolvency. Cannim Limited’s confirmation statement has been overdue since November 11, 2025.

The pending official investigations, including public examinations of directors and ASIC inquiries into alleged breaches, should reveal further details about how company finances were managed during the period liquidators believe the companies were insolvent. Business of Cannabis will continue reporting as new information emerges from these proceedings.