Updated ,first published
The collapse of one of sydney’s largest building companies threatens to engulf its suppliers and contractors, sending construction costs soaring as the state struggles to meet its housing targets.
Teneo, the administrator of Bathla Group, has until Thursday to find $20 million to repay eight weeks of staff wages and fund near-complete projects. If it fails, Bathla will be shut down.
But the shockwaves of the company’s financial crisis, which if not resolved by Thursday will lead to it entering liquidation, are already spreading throughout the housing sector. Bathla is believed to owe millions of dollars to subcontractors who are considered unsecured creditors.
The crisis piles more pressure on the already-strained housing industry, which has been struggling to build financially viable projects after numerous interest rate rises and increasing construction costs associated with the war in the Middle East, and which is unlikely to be…