Sydney hospitality boss charged over north shore robbery

3 hours ago 1

A member of one of Sydney’s most prominent hospitality families has been charged after he and two other men allegedly broke into a woman’s home and stole her car keys and registration papers.

Steven Kospetas, the director of Universal Hotels, was arrested in May and charged over the break-in, which occurred last October.

Universal Hotels director Steven Christopher Kospetas, pictured with wife Vesna, has been charged with breaking into a Ryde apartment and stealing a woman’s car keys.

Police allege Kospetas, 33, and two others – Tahi Davis, 27, and Fotios Kates, 36 – broke into the Ryde apartment on October 2.

Police sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Herald that Kospetas was believed to have been assisting a friend retrieve the vehicle during a dispute over its ownership.

Kospetas was charged with aggravated break and enter in company and stealing property worth less than $60,000. He was granted police bail on the same day.

Universal Hotels, founded in 1998 and run by the Kospetas family, is one of Sydney’s most prominent hospitality companies and owns 15 venues across the city. Its multimillion-dollar portfolio includes popular venues The Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, The Oxford Hotel and The Riley in Darlinghurst, and M Bar and V Bar in Sydney’s CBD.

The Kospetas family owns several popular Sydney venues, including The Imperial Hotel in Erskineville.

The company has in recent years bought and sold several well-known Sydney venues in multimillion-dollar deals.

Kospetas has served as director of Universal Hotels since 2011, and currently handles the company’s acquisitions and sales, according to his LinkedIn profile. He graduated from the prestigious Cranbrook School in 2010, according to the profile.

“Steven is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to a sale or a purchase as he has great passion in design and being creative with properties within the group,” Kospetas’ profile says.

“His extensive flow of support and transparency allows any business dealings to incorporate trust, integrity, honesty and success.”

Kospetas, who has been in Greece and is expected to return to Sydney this week, is yet to enter a plea to the charges.

In August, Kospetas’ bail conditions were varied so he could travel overseas. When he returns, he will be required to report to police three times a week.

Davis was in April granted bail after $100,000 was put up as security and he surrendered his passport.

Kates was granted police bail shortly after he was arrested in April. Kates has also been charged with destroying or damaging, in the company of others, property worth more than $2000. The charges relate to the damaging of the door of the unit the trio is alleged to have broken into, court documents show. Davis and Kates will return to court in February.

Kospetas was contacted for comment. His brother and Universal Hotels chief executive, Harris Kospetas, declined to comment on the charges when contacted by the Herald.

Kospetas will return to court in October.

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