This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DELOITTE, the administrators of collapsed building giant Probuild will investigate a $48.7 million transfer to the civil construction arm.
The Guardian reported that WBHO Infrastructure borrowed the money last year after suffering losses from the western roads upgrade in Melbourne.
Only $5 million of the loan has been repaid.
These findings come after administrators revealed in Court that Probuild owes its staff at least $14 million in entitlements.
Probuild’s owners, South Africa’s WBHO had blamed the Australian government’s handling of the pandemic and restrictions for the company’s collapse.
“The Australian government’s hard-line approach of managing COVID-19 through a combination of border restrictions, snap lockdowns and mandatory work-from-home regulations for many sectors, has had a considerable impact on property markets as well as other industries such as the leisure industry.
“Of particular concern is the project delivery capability of the business which has been negatively affected by unplanned COVID-19 restrictions, the contractual environment and the increased difficulty in raising guarantee facilities necessary to secure new work.
“The protracted effect of COVID-19 has delayed any meaningful economic recovery and procurement activity in Australia.” WBHO said.
Meanwhile Webuild is running the ruler over Probuild’s Western Australia business after Multiplex heir Andrew Robert’s Roberts Co gazumped competitors for the sizeable Victorian portfolio.
Webuild is expected to secure Exchange, Curtain University’s first precinct in the Perth campus which will include three buildings for student accommodation and hotel rooms.
Roberts Co will buy most of Probuild’s Victoria projects whilst the Westside Place the Ritz Carlton project was returned to its developer, Far East Consortium.
Probuild’s other Victorian projects include the Caufield Village Precinct in Melbourne’s south-east for Blackstone – the US private equity giant’s first Melbourne build-to-rent project; Malaysian group SP Setia’s 65-level residential skyscraper UNO Melbourne; CSL’s new headquarters and research lab in North Melbourne; Elizabeth North in Melbourne, a 16-storey education and biomedical building by developer PDG Corporation; the 29-storey Victoria University City West Tower, poised to become Melbourne’s tallest vertical campus; and the $190 million, 28-storey 10,000 sqm office building at 130 Little Collins Street in Melbourne for Jeff Xu’s Golden Age Group.
