Updated ,first published
More than 200 staff have been stood down from the collapsed Bathla Group after a weekend of crisis talks, as administrators confirmed construction on developments in Sydney would be suspended.
Bathla said in a statement on Monday that it had reached a short-term funding agreement with five lenders to enable limited operations to continue for a further two weeks, but 213 staff had been stood down and “construction on other projects will be suspended today”.
The developer, which has major projects across Sydney and thousands of properties in the pipeline, collapsed into voluntary administration on August 24 owing dozens of creditors $3.4 billion and has been teetering on the brink of liquidation.
Teneo senior managing director Stephen Longley, the administrator, said on Monday the immediate priority had been securing enough short-term funding “to maintain a minimum viable operating structure”.
“The arrangements agreed today allow us to provide the central support required for construction to continue on projects associated with the lenders participating in the funding package,” he said.
“Significant work remains to secure the funding required to progress and ultimately complete all projects currently under construction. We will continue to work closely with lenders and other key stakeholders to pursue those arrangements.”
The administrators said that final documentation was expected to be signed later on Monday but the amount and the participating lenders would remain confidential. Further updates were expected to be provided to customers, employees, creditors, subcontractors and other stakeholders as the administration progressed.
Premier Chris Minns said on Monday that the state government was “in discussions with the administrator” and noted while payroll was met last week “we’ve got a bit of a way to run”.
“There is still prospect for either the breaking up of the company and other parties stepping in to grab a piece of it and complete the works,” Minns said.
“So I think that there’s an important process to take place before a line of credit or public money is extended to the company. And the reason today is it’s not my money; it’s public money.”
Speaking while Bathla employees were being addressed, Minns said it was possible for third parties to take over parts of the company: “In which case, the administration process will work for those home owners.”
“Not all major builders in NSW are financed the same way. You know, this is a very strange corporate structure involving a hell of a lot of debt, largely collected from private capital, private credit, not through the banks and traditional finances,” he said.
One Bathla employee leaving the company’s Girraween headquarters on Monday said he had not been stood down, but other staff had been. He did not confirm how many employees no longer have work and said he remained “positive” about Bathla’s future.
After the announcement, Bathla’s headquarters remained quiet, with the few staff spotted leaving the site keeping their heads down and declining to speak to this masthead.
Outside the building, the car park was full with every kind of vehicle, from utes to BMWs. About five people could be seen through the glass windows, typing on their laptop. The group’s director, Bhart Bhushan, was not seen at the building.
One person leaving the building said they were not a Bathla employee but had been brought in to “fix stuff” before another company could take the headquarters over. Bathla is leasing the Girraween site.
On Friday, it was revealed that Bathla Group owed at least $3.4 billion and administrator Teneo told creditors that “positive discussions” were continuing with five of the company’s 43 lenders to gain funding to keep construction going.
Bathla Group – and its 542 individual entities – entered into voluntary administration on August 24. Teneo was last week desperately negotiating with lenders to secure short-term funding to stave off liquidation.
Bathla has 45 projects under construction in NSW set to deliver about 2500 homes, but administrators said the developer also has a significant land bank holding, at various stages of development.
The administrator is also seeking to prevent the suspension of Bathla Group’s building licences by Building Commission NSW, which issued the notice of intention after the company entered voluntary administration. If the developer goes into liquidation, the licences would be automatically cancelled.
Later on Friday, the state’s building regulator hit Raj & Jai Construction, a related entity of Bathla’s, with a building work rectification order to fix seven serious defects at an apartment building in Seven Hills.
With Max Maddison
Ellie Busby is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Anthony Segaert is the Parramatta bureau chief at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously an urban affairs reporter.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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