One of Wollongong's biggest hotel-owning groups is in crisis, with receivers appointed to take over the business.Drinkers at the Harp Hotel on Corrimal St watched on Thursday as receivers sent by the Westpac bank walked in and took over operation of the pub.The receivers also took over the nearby Glasshouse Tavern on Crown St and the Commercial Hotel at Port Kembla.The pubs are owned by RDL Investments NSW Pty Ltd, which is now under administration by Sydney-based receivers KordaMentha.Debts are understood to be well over $1 million, owed mainly to Westpac.RDL is part of a complex set of companies run by Wollongong businessmen Resmi (Raz) Dema, Dino Tonegato and Lupco (Lou) Ristov. The trio also owns a property holding company called Demtor, which also has been taken over by the receivers.In recent months, RDL has sold off three of its other nightclubs - the Ivory, a late-night haunt on lower Crown St, the Onefiveone nightclub on Keira St, and the gay-friendly club Castro's on Victoria St.But the sales were not enough to keep the bankers from the door.When contacted by the Mercury yesterday, Mr Dema would not comment. He referred questions to lawyer Malcolm Heard and hung up the phone.Mr Heard, director of Heard McEwan Legal, said the receiver moved in on Thursday to take possession of RDL's assets."It's come about principally, I think, because the business relied upon funding from the bank," he said."As a result of the general economic downturn, and the hospitality industry downturn in particular, the bank found itself in a position where it could no longer support the financial needs of the group ... and decided to take possession of the assets."The eastern part of Wollongong's CBD is filled with cafes and restaurants, but the Oxford Hotel closed down in July, leaving the Glasshouse, Harp and Ivory.Yesterday's news of the receivership sparked fears the area could lose all three venues.But receiver David Winterbottom said the pubs' employees - understood to number about 30 - need not worry as it would be "business as usual".The three venues would be kept running while KordaMentha gets them into shape to sell to settle the company's debt to Westpac."The Harp's been there forever - it's a really good pub," he said. "It's a really good trader - that's not going to change."Of the several companies associated with RDL, Mr Heard said the only companies affected were RDL Investments NSW - which ran the pubs - and Demtor, which owns two of the hotels."Those two companies are associated with the Dema, Ristov and Tonegato families," he said.The three directors also own another company, RDL Group, which holds the liquor licence for the Grand Hotel - formerly Cooneys - on Keira St.In August, the Ivory changed hands from RDL Investments NSW to a business called Nightlife Wollongong, which took over running the club.It is a separate business to Wollongong Nightlife, which is run by Mr Ristov.Nightlife Wollongong's director and sole shareholder is a person called Zini Zafiri.A sign above the front door of the Ivory still names its licensee as RDL Investments Pty Ltd.An application was made recently to expand the Ivory into the space occupied by the Hogs Breath Cafe, which is relocating.