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Gatto’s mate gets ready to collect Neil Walker neil@mpnews.com.au A DEBT collection firm with links to underworld identity Mick Gatto is setting up shop in Hastings. Gatto Corporate Solutions Pty Ltd, a debt purchasing company which buys debts then pursues creditors for the money owed, has leased office space at 8 High St, opposite Hastings Library. Gatto’s surname is on the office window but the former boss of the notorious Carlton Crew is not a current coowner of the business despite initially owning one third of its parent company Gatto Corp, via a private company, when it was formed in 2009. Gatto Corporate Solutions managing director Anthony Swords told The News he is the sole shareholder and “Mick’s my mentorâ€?. He said the firm “does everythingâ€? in the building industry and horse racing industry. “Everyone thinks it’s just a debt collection office but it’s not. We set up companies as well, give business advice, do mediation and negotiations when people try to buy or start a business.â€? Mr Swords said he has signed a twoyear lease for the “satellite officeâ€? for Gatto Corporate Solutions. The firm also has an office in Point Cook. Mr Swords said “cheap rentâ€? and the Hastings location is appealing. “I’ve got a farm in Junction Village so I’m only 15 minutes away. “It’s a good place to be ‌ the shop there is pretty much what I was paying for my car park in the city.â€?
He said Gatto Corporate Solutions has signed a two-year lease with further options at the Hastings, High St office and “a minimumâ€? of three admin staff will be based there. “I run out of Lygon St – I have most of my meetings in Lygon St in Carlton,â€? Mr Swords said. The Hastings office also has the company name Victorian Racing Collections Pty Ltd emblazoned on its window. “That is primarily a debt collection agency,â€? Mr Swords said. “It’s all over Victoria but obviously there’s a lot of trainers out Western Port way and Cranbourne way so it’s just convenient to be out here.â€? The Gatto Corporate Solutions website states some outstanding debt cases “require more vigorous actionâ€?. When asked what this entailed, Mr Swords said it could include legal action. “It might mean you go to court ‌ I have a couple of solicitors who work for me and everything we do is done legally but the way we work is we assign people’s debts so we take them on and they’re our own. So we collect them however we want.â€? The office space was leased by Century 21 real estate agent Chris Watt. The shopfront was advertised as having “generous incentives available if you are of good standing and willing to make a reasonable commitmentâ€?. Mr Watt is on leave and was unavailable for comment. The Hastings premises leased to Gatto Corporate Solutions will also be a base for fundraising volunteers for a charity called We Were Champi-
Cars lose control
New tenant: Mick Gatto (inset right) associate Anthony Swords (inset left) of Gatto Corporate Solutions has leased an office, above, in Hastings. Inset picture supplied
ons which saves racehorses from the knackery. We Were Champions was granted official charity status in 2013 and was established by Gatto Corporate Solutions. Mr Swords said since it had taken “over a month� to get the lease sorted out he “knew a bit� about Hastings and is impressed with the Renew Hastings project which fills empty shopfronts
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with “pop-up shopsâ€? including spaces to exhibit artists’ works. “This could be a good chance for Hastings as well ‌ some of the things we do is help people set up their own business. “There’s a good future for Hastings with the port coming in. It’s just a nice little place.â€? Gatto Corporation Solutions will officially open for business next week.
SPEED has been a factor in three car accidents in Stotts Lane, Frankston South, in the past two weeks, police say. The 60km/h mostly sealed road has a gravel section about 300 metres from the Baxter-Tooradin Rd intersection, where the accidents have occurred. “All the accidents have resulted in roll-overs,� Acting Sgt Brent Thickens, of Frankston Highway Patrol, said. “The cars appear to lose traction and go up the embankment causing them to roll.� Three people were in the most recent accident involved a Holden Commodore rolling after losing control on the gravel section on the Australia Day weekend. The 30-year-old driver from Frankston was taken to The Alfred hospital with critical injuries. He is reportedly now in a stable condition. Acting Sgt Thickens said police were “paying more attention� to driver behaviour on the road – and especially the 60km/h limit. He urged drivers to take more care on the road. Frankston Council last year upgraded the intersection of Stotts Lane and Baxter-Tooradin Rd, adding turning lanes and has listed the sealing of the lane in its 10-year capital works program. “In the meantime, council officers will inspect the road and carry out any repairs if required,� CEO Dennis Hovenden said. “We urge all drivers to use caution whenever they are driving, particularly on unsealed roads.�
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WHAT MAKES A HUSQVARNA Western Port News 3 February 2015
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