PAC Capital under siege as lenders target Larcombe, Clayton 2026

Key Points

• Lenders have tightened pressure on Clayton Larcombe’s embattled investment firm, PAC Capital, as the company’s collapse continues to unravel.
• PAC Capital, once a high‑profile Sydney‑based funds manager specialising in online gambling and gaming, has been placed into liquidation amid mounting creditor claims.
• Creditors have taken control of PAC Capital and its associated ventures, including property‑linked lending and investor‑facing funds.
• Media reports indicate that lenders are now targeting the Larcombes’ luxury homes and mortgage‑backed assets to recover debts built up during the firm’s rapid expansion.
• Adverse publicity surrounding Clayton Larcombe’s professional background, qualifications, and alleged conflicts of interest has damaged PAC Capital’s brand and contributed to investor and lender caution.

Clayton(Manchester Mirror)April 01, 2026 – Lenders have tightened their grip on Sydney‑based venture capitalist Clayton Larcombe and his faltering firm PAC Capital as the company’s financial collapse enters a new, more aggressive phase, with creditors moving to seize property and corporate assets to recoup mounting debts. Multiple reports describe an escalating creditor‑driven takeover of PAC Capital’s remaining operations, alongside moves against the Larcombes’ high‑value real‑estate holdings, marking a sharp fall from the golden‑era image of Larcombe as a “racy” Sydney investor with a widening portfolio of gaming and tech‑linked funds.

Why are lenders targeting Clayton Larcombe now?

According to journalists at The Nightly, the downturn in PAC Capital’s fortunes has been driven by a series of setbacks, including regulatory scrutiny, adverse media coverage of Larcombe’s professional history, and the collapse of gambling‑linked and tech‑backed investments. As reported by The Nightly’s team covering New South Wales business, PAC Capital’s once‑booming funds management arm held roughly A$400 million under management for investors, many of them retirees from regional Victoria, before reputational and regulatory issues snowballed.

The situation intensified when the Australian communications regulator ruled that Picklebet, an online gambling platform where Larcombe held a personal stake and chaired the board, breached the national self‑exclusion register meant to protect problem gamblers. As noted by The Nightly, this finding exposed PAC Capital‑linked investments that were simultaneously backing the platform, raising fresh questions about conflicts of interest and governance.

What exactly happened to PAC Capital?

In the latest development, PAC Capital was placed into liquidation, with creditors formally taking control of the business. The Nightly reported that the firm had previously sold off much of its funds‑management business in 2024 after sustained negative publicity, retaining only a roughly A$30 million venture‑capital vehicle while trying to pivot into other investment areas.

During that restructure, Larcombe also launched a new AI‑focused investment firm in Abu Dhabi, Pacific Partners, where he now serves as managing partner, according to his LinkedIn profile. However, separate media outlets and commentary pieces, including those on X quoting financial‑media analysts, emphasise that the PAC Capital debacle remains unresolved, with liquidators now combing through the company’s remaining assets, investor‑linked structures, and personal‑side holdings tied to Larcombe.

How are lenders “turning the screws” on Larcombe?

Multiple outlets, including The Nightly and The Daily Telegraph‑style coverage traced in wider business reporting, describe how lenders have begun enforcing loan covenants and mortgage conditions on the Larcombes’ properties. The couple’s Bellevue Hill residence, a high‑status home with a pool and tennis court often used in their social‑media‑driven public image, has been seized and is being sold by the mortgage provider, according to The Nightly.

Reports also note that a second mortgage on the property carries an interest rate as high as 20 per cent, an unusually punitive figure that signals the lender’s view of the underlying risk. The Nightly quotes sources familiar with the situation saying lenders may have decided to liquidate PAC Capital in part to claw back money tied up in the two Sydney‑area homes, effectively using the couple’s real‑estate portfolio as collateral amid the broader collapse.

What do the media say about Larcombe’s background?

The Australian Financial Review and related commentary pieces have scrutinised claims made about Clayton Larcombe’s education and professional background, with some outlets describing inconsistencies in his public biography. As reported by The Australian Financial Review‑centred coverage gathered by esports‑sector watchdogs, media investigations have questioned whether Larcombe’s résumé fully aligns with some of the credentials he has cited in promotional material and interviews.

These findings fed into ratings‑suspension decisions by research firms such as SQM Research, which suspended ratings for some PAC Capital funds pending further information. Harvey Kalman, a former director at Equity Trustees, had joined the PAC Capital board in an effort to bolster governance, but the underlying reputational damage and regulatory heat continued to mount.

How have investors been affected?

Esports and gaming‑sector coverage notes that PAC Capital’s flagship venture‑capital fund, PAC Private 1, was used to invest in brands such as Bayes Esports Solutions, a Berlin‑based esports data company that later collapsed. This loss, combined with Picklebet‑linked regulatory breaches and the broader collapse of PAC Capital, has left investors facing potentially significant write‑downs.

Commentators on X, including high‑profile short‑seller and analyst John Hempton, have publicly flagged that “Clayton Larcombe’s funds are in liquidation,” underscoring to retail and institutional followers that capital previously parked with PAC Capital is now subject to recovery‑process uncertainty.

What of the personal and legal issues?

Parallel to the financial and regulatory fallout, Larcombe faces personal‑legal complications. The Nightly reports that a magistrate issued an apprehended domestic violence order (AVO) against Clayton Larcombe on behalf of his wife, Kyara Larcombe, shortly after PAC Capital’s liquidation. The order includes conditions requiring him to stay away from her for at least 12 hours after drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs, and to refrain from destroying property or harming animals belonging to her.

These developments have been widely interpreted in Australian media as compounding the narrative of a “disastrous downfall” for a once‑glamorous couple whose rise was steeped in luxury homes, black‑tie events, and an image of Sydney’s new money elite.

How are the lenders’ actions shaping the wider fallout?

Commentary pieces in Australian business‑media circles suggest that PAC Capital’s case is now a cautionary tale around celebrity‑style fund managers, high‑leveraged property purchases, and the entanglement of personal and corporate financing. Lenders’ moves to seize real‑estate assets and force liquidation of PAC Capital illustrate how, once trust erodes, even high‑growth‑style operators can find themselves exposed to rapid, creditor‑driven wind‑downs.