Successful entrepreneur goes broke
AN article in Gold Coast Business News, written just after Michael Kljaic scooped an entrepreneur of the year award in 2009, said the then 37-year-old had a “bulletproof business model.”
Yesterday, when confronted by the Daily News over the apparent demise, he said he had “suffered more than anyone”, blaming the bank for throttling the life out of his business and saying his problems started in 2008.
The former Serbian national confirmed his house had been repossessed by the bank and he may have to just “work for other people” from now on.
MKM Group was established in 1997 and in 2009 it was said to have 100 staff and a turnover of $38.5m.
In his 2009 interview he explained how he turned his business around in the Global Financial Crisis.
“Years ago I didn’t like the loans or bank debt and I owned everything,” he said at the time.
“Now I want to go back and simplify it, because if the bank owns it, it’s not really yours.”
Receivers from Ernst & Young will have to make a decision on the future viability of MKM Group.
