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Voluntary administrators have put the feelers out for buyers to rescue Fishburners after their shock appointment to Australia’s largest startup community this week.
Gayle Dickerson and Phil Quinlan, of KPMG Australia, were appointed to Fishburners on Wednesday with the startup group revealing it had fallen victim to a debt it had accumulated under the NSW Government’s Sydney Starup Hub program.
In a LinkedIn post, Dickerson has put out the call to interested parties across her network for expressions of interest in Fishburners, which she says has been one of Australia’s leading innovation and entrepreneurship hubs for over 15 years.
Fishburners broke the news earlier this week that it had entered voluntary administration, adding that the hub will continue with business as usual for now.
The decision by the board followed “unsuccessful efforts to resolve long-standing rental legacy debt accumulated under the state-led Sydney Startup Hub program, ongoing financial pressures and subsequent operating losses”, according to a statement from Fishburners.
“Importantly, Fishburners is continuing to operate as usual. Access to desks, offices and shared spaces remains unchanged, community programs will continue to run, and it is business as usual for founders.”
Fishburners was founded in 2011 by tech entrepreneurs Mike Casey and Pete Davison to create “a vibrant community of like-minded entrepreneurs” to share ideas and learn from each other while employing technology to innovate and develop new products and services.
Since then, the organisation has supported more than 35,000 entrepreneurs and helped raise more than $600 million in investments.
While the long-term future of the innovation hub remains uncertain, Fishburners says the administrators are working “side-by-side” with its team to find a resolution.
“Voluntary administration is a short term process that provides the organisation with breathing space while options to address the current financial pressures are explored,” says Fishburners.
“At the same time, the administrators are engaging with several parties as part of a sale, investment and recapitalisation process, with the objective of securing a sustainable future for Fishburners and continuity for the community.
“We expect this process may take up to five weeks.”
The voluntary administration comes more than a year after Majella Campbell was appointed CEO to replace Martin Karafilis who stepped down after more than two years in the role.
Fishburners said at the time that the leadership transition came against the backdrop of broader shifts within the Australian startup ecosystem, including changes in government initiatives such as the transition of the Sydney Startup Hub from Wynyard to Tech Central later this year.
Tech Central spans six diverse neighbourhoods in central Sydney, anchored by University of Sydney and UTS, and is home to unicorns such as Atlassian and Canva.
The first meeting of Fishburners' creditors is scheduled for 18 May 2026.
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