Queensland builder collapses, impacting at least a dozen homes

The fates of homes under construction are in jeopardy after a building company suddenly collapsed, joining a long list of other casualties in the sector.

Another building firm has joined a long list of casualties in the sector after it went into voluntary liquidation.

Last Friday, Brisbane-based residential builder Pantha Homes Pty Ltd collapsed.

Then this Tuesday, a notice was put out about its liquidation status.

William Roland Robson of Robson Cotter Insolvency Group has been appointed as the liquidator.

He told news.com.au that at least a dozen homeowners have been impacted with all their construction sites at various stages of completion.

“Some of them (the homes) were close to handover, some were at contract stage, (it is) quite a spectrum,” Mr Robson said.

He said he had visited the premises of the building firm and that judging by the state of its head offices, it had been much-loved by those that ran the company.

“The premises are absolutely beautifully maintained, you can tell they’ve put their hearts and souls into this thing,” he said.

“This is devastating for the clients and directors of this company.”

Pantha has only recently gone into liquidation.

Although his investigation is still in its “early days”, Mr Robson noted that so far it appears the company owes at least $260,000 to suppliers.

That doesn’t include the claims homeowners could also lodge regarding the liquidation.

Pantha Homes also has “minimal assets”, making it unlikely creditors will receive much.

“There’s not a lot of assets behind them,” he explained.

For building companies, the only assets they have is generally vehicles, tools and office equipment, he said.

The reason for the firm’s failure is similar to many other builders that have collapsed across the country.

It’s because of “Escalating costs that are uncontrollable under fixed price contracts,” Mr Robson explained.

According to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Pantha Homes went from having $13.6 million worth of projects in 2020 to just $4.1 million over the past two years.

Mr Robson’s insolvency firm also dealt with the Oracle Homes collapse which devastated hundreds of homeowners last year.

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The entire building industry has been devastated by tough market conditions in the past 12 months. Picture: istock

The construction industry has been struggling as many companies are facing financial ruin and unable to turn a profit because of current market rates.

Last week, three prominent building companies collapsed a day apart from each other.

On Monday, major NSW apartment developer EQ Constructions went bust owing at least $40 to $50 million.

A day later, a Perth building company called Hamlen Homes collapsed into administration with $1.4 million reportedly owed to creditors.

Then on Wednesday, news.com.au reported on Melbourne-based residential builder Hallbury Homes going into voluntary administration.

The firm owed between $8 million and $12 million to hundreds of creditors, including 62 homeowners with projects at various stages of completion.

Earlier in February, award-winning residential construction company Delco Building Group in Victoria went under owing $780,000 to 50 creditors.

It also emerged in January that two more construction companies in Western Australia went under due to labour shortages and increasing construction costs.

A number of large firms entered into insolvency over the past year including Probuild, Condev Construction, Pivotal Homes, Waterford Homes, Privium, Home Innovation Builders and Norris Construction Group.

It was caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labour shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.

Originally published as Queensland builder collapses, impacting at least a dozen homes