The owner of Trough X, a queer dance and sex-on-premises cruise club planned for Surry Hills, has been given a 30-day notice by the building’s owner to resolve outstanding financial issues or risk losing the lease.
The future of the under-construction Sydney venue on Crown Street remains uncertain as the owner struggles to secure the necessary funding to continue to hold the lease.
Trough X was originally set to open before this year’s Mardi Gras, but construction stalled when Trough X owner Nik Dimopoulos faced difficulties securing financing.
Stasia Pty Limited, owned by property investor George Karageorge, said in an emailed statement that Trough was substantially behind in rent and that funds were required to complete the fit-out. Stasia owns a large portfolio of Sydney properties including graphic design platform Canva’s headquarters in Surry Hills and the building that houses the Noir and Carousel nightclubs at 163-171 Oxford Street.
“We are aware that these issues [with Trough X] have arisen from financial arrangements within the lessee’s [Dimopoulos’] group,” Stasia said.
The property investment company added that it had given Trough X “ample support and time” to address the rent arrears and was willing to make financial concessions to help resolve the outstanding issues and avoid the termination of the lease.
This was despite Stasia saying it had faced “significant losses” from the current situation and had already invested a “considerable amount” of money into Trough’s fit-out.
As a gesture of goodwill, it said Trough has been offered a rent-free period of four months if they can complete the fit-out and continue with the lease. “In this scenario, the lessor [Stasia] would waive the outstanding arrears, as would be the case for any incoming new lessee,” Stasia said.
They added that Dimopoulos, the Trough owner, had made partial payments towards the outstanding rent, but that Trough had “been issued a 30-day notice to resolve the outstanding issues or face lease termination”.
Dimopoulos previously confirmed that Trough had made “partial payments toward the rent, but we’re still working on securing financial backing to maintain the lease consistently”.
Stasia didn’t specify when the notice was issued, but a statement from Tough on Wednesday said it was informed “in the past two weeks” that another venue would potentially replace them.
Meanwhile, Stasia confirmed a previous Gay Sydney News report that two independent groups had made offers to lease the premises. However, due to confidentiality agreements and privacy considerations, Stasia said it could not reveal their identities at this time.
Stasia said it also could not confirm that the proposed new uses exclude or do not include components related to the LGTBQIA+ community.
Multiple sources close to the current situation, speaking anonymously due to commercial sensitivities, previously told Gay Sydney News that one potential operator planned to run the venue as a mixed swingers’ club with occasional gay events, while the other operates an existing straight gentleman’s club in Sydney.
The sources said the operator looking to run it as a mixed swingers’ club is the one most likely to secure the venue if Trough fails to resolve outstanding financial issues.
On Wednesday, Dimopoulos issued an urgent public plea seeking long-term financial partners that could help sustain Trough X in Sydney, saying a non-LGTBQIA+ operator would be taking over the lease if financial support was unable to be secured.
The terms offered to partners could include equity stakes in the business or other forms of financial engagement depending on the partnership, Dimopoulos said.
On the same day, Dimopoulos told Gay Sydney News that Trough had faced difficulties in attracting investors who both understood the cultural significance of a space like Trough and were willing to take on the financial risks involved.
“Securing financial support from the LGBTQIA+ community and potential investors has been challenging primarily due to post-COVID economic constraints, changes in the nightlife landscape, and a shift in priorities for many community members,” Dimopoulos said.
“Crowd-funding can provide immediate assistance,” Dimopoulos added, referencing earlier considerations to launch a crowd-funding campaign, “but we need more stable, ongoing commitments from investors to ensure the venue’s future”.
Dimopoulos has been running sex-positive Trough events in Melbourne and London for several years and previously expressed a desire to model his Sydney venue after Berlin nightclubs with dark rooms for sex.
He has continued to run his parties in Melbourne despite financial difficulties with Trough X in Sydney. Trough’s upcoming Melbourne events include Screw on October 11, Nutt on November 8 and Trough NYD on January 1 next year.
The Surry Hills building now occupied by Trough X was previously run by businessman Dean White, who ran it as the sex-on-premises venue TRADE between 2018 and 2023.
Before then it was known as HeadQuarters, which also ran it as a sex-on-premises venue.
Gay Sydney News editor