Construction stops on Sydney Bathla sites as funding ends

Construction has ceased on all Bathla Group projects and 125 employees have been stood down as the administrator announced it had run out of funding to keep the collapsed developer operational.

Administrator Teneo said on Thursday that the short-term funding initially secured to continue construction on 13 sites had been exhausted and discussions with lenders about financial support have stopped.

Bathla Group’s signage at an unfinished residential development in Marsden Park.BloombergTeneo administrator Stephen Longley said the focus was now on working with lenders for an orderly sale of Bathla Group’s subdivision and land bank sites.

“A core team of Bathla employees has been retained to assist with the management and realisation of the assets,” a Teneo spokesperson said.

“The administrators will provide further updates to customers, employees, creditors, subcontractors and other stakeholders as the administration process progresses.”

The announcement comes after the NSW Supreme Court granted the developer an extension of the convening period last week, which would allow the voluntary administration to continue for 12 months, and Teneo secured $4.7 million in initial funding from six lenders.

The administrator this month stood down 213 out of about 350 staff following the short-term funding agreement. The Herald understands about 67 employees remain.

The major Sydney developer collapsed on August 25 with debts of $3.4 billion, including $145 million owed to the Australian Tax Office. The private credit-funded Bathla Group and its 542 entities have major projects across Sydney and thousands of properties in the pipeline.

The Herald understands the group’s bank accounts had not been reconciled for some time and records may contain $736 million of overstated intercompany receivables and payables, subject to reconciliation.

A preliminary review has identified 219 current projects carrying about $3.13 billion of debt, against a preliminary total value of $4.87 billion. Bathla has $400 million of completed property currently for sale or under contract.

In the five years leading up to its collapse, the embattled developer was also hit with more than 300 notices by SafeWork NSW relating to safety issues, with 59 of those notices given in the past 18 months. The most common notices were related to falls from heights, electrical hazards, construction site security, general workplace management and falling objects.

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