
Prominent Adelaide-based home building firm, Qattro, has collapsed, casting uncertainty over approximately 200 housing projects. Appointed liquidators, Chris Powell and Nick Gyss of Duncan Powell, disclosed that more than $4.5m is due to unsecured creditors from the financially beleaguered company, whichalso holds over 200 projects collectively valued at more than $110m. These projects are either pending construction or currently in progress.
The liquidators announced that the company has confronted a worsening business environment which has left a visible impact across the entire construction sector. They emphasized their vast experience in aiding distressed businesses in similar conflict-ridden situations.
Moving forward, the liquidators pledge to cooperate closely with the management team, the diverse body of developers, and property owners. The shared aim, they said, is to mitigate continous losses, reduce the risk for all involved parties, and assure an orderly transition and successful conclusion of the ongoing projects.
Also airing his views on the regrettable turn of events, Qattro Director Bradley Jansen admitted that it had been a tough call to invite the liquidators. Despite the struggle to withstand enormous cost escalations, the company held on, even as the past three years proved excruciatingly hard.
He expressed his disappointment at having to reach a decision which echoes the company’s struggle to regain its post-Covid financial resilience. However, the persistent distress in supply-chain dynamics, coupled with labour shortages, had left a considerable amount of resources trapped in almost completed projects that made meeting the company’s immediate obligations an uphill task.
He maintained that new projects bagged were profitable; the ones posing a hurdle were the existing undertakings with upside-down fixed price contracts. They put excessive pressure on the ability to turnaround, no matter how hard the team tried. In his words, continuing to sell something under contract for $1.00 while the production cost soars at $1.20 is a sinking ship which can hardly be sustained. He also noted the industry’s observation of this unfolding scenario over the past three years, with everyone clueless about when things will change for the better.
In his statement, Jansen acknowledged the “significant impact” of this ordeal on employees, clients, and contractors, extending his apologies.
In its operations, Qattro had been engaged in several stages of construction at locations such as the Cedar Woods Fletcher Slip Development and the Dock 1 Development for Kite Constructions. Additionally, the company was involved in a few smaller projects in locations including Underdale, Torrens Park, and Lightsview.