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Adelaide’s deputy lord mayor Houssam Abiad is a customer of failed builder D&C Homes and has further business ties to director

Deputy Lord Mayor Houssam Abiad has close ties to a director of failed builder D&C Homes — which left almost 20 homes unfinished — however, he says a mix-up over a post-it note means the relationship wasn’t declared.

Deputy lord mayor Houssam Abiad (front), with one of his half-built properties (back).
Deputy lord mayor Houssam Abiad (front), with one of his half-built properties (back).

Adelaide City Council deputy lord mayor Houssam Abiad is a major customer of failed builder D & C Homes and a business partner of one of its two directors in another company, DAB Wholesales — a relationship not reflected in his register of interests.

Cr Abiad says this is an oversight and communication with the council last night shows he apparently tried to update his register in December via Post-it note however this was not recorded.

The most up to date register of interests is from August 2018 and the company in question, DAB Wholesales, was set up in January 2018.

DAB Wholesales operates a newly launched website, Developer Direct Online, which Cr Abiad said had not yet started trading.

The business sells building supplies such as fittings, formwork and flooring. D & C Homes was placed in liquidation on Thursday with debts of about $800,000.

Liquidator Mark Lieberenz, from Heard Phillips Lieberenz, said D & C had about 63 trade creditors, about 50 subcontractors were owed money and up to 19 homes were unfinished.

The company’s two directors are Andrew Di Bacco, who is also a director of DAB Wholesales, and Lance Capitano.

An email from Cr Abiad indicates D & C has had a long relationship with his various development companies, which are currently building 11 homes with D & C.

“As you can appreciate from the above our companies are significantly exposed as a result, and we will have to await the outcome of the administrators and file for insurance,’’ Cr Abiad said in a statement emailed to The Advertiser.

Houssam Abiad's development site at Kilburn. Picture: Cameron England.
Houssam Abiad's development site at Kilburn. Picture: Cameron England.

Mr Abiad initially said late on Thursday that the directors of D & C were “good people” and “we’ve used them in the past. I’m just a customer’’.

However ASIC documents show that both Cr Abiad and Mr Di Bacco are directors and shareholders of DAB Wholesales, which was set up in January 2018, and is registered to Cr Abiad’s home address — a house which Mr Di Bacco built.

Cr Abiad’s statement emailed to The Advertiser said: “I did inform council staff to list the company on my register of interest last year after I was re-elected to office, as I am only required to update it once per year, I did the last update in August 2018, again after the election, and again in 2019 for another matter.’’

Cr Abiad’s register includes eight property development companies but not DAB, which was set up in January 2018.

Mr Abiad denied that because he and Mr Di Bacco were joint shareholders in a business and that they had had a long association as customer and builder, that the two therefore could be considered to have a “relationship” and reiterated many times that he was “literally just a customer’’ of D & C.

He also said Mr Di Bacco was only a 10 per cent shareholder in DAB Wholesales and was involved because he might one day buy from it.

“It doesn’t mean I have a relationship,’’ he said.

“I don’t know them as friends. I don’t know how all of this is interconnected.

“The inclusion of Mr Di Bacco in the company was a good idea for our model, as it gave DAB Wholesales access to D & C Homes potentially buying its product.’’

D & C Homes has been placed in liquidation. Picture: Cameron England.
D & C Homes has been placed in liquidation. Picture: Cameron England.

Mr Abiad said he had “paid in full’ for all of the work D & C was meant to do for his companies and if anything, he was likely to be a creditor.

Mr Abiad said if DAB Wholesales was not on the council’s register of interests he apologised and would rectify the matter.

Emails sent to the council last night indicate that Cr Abiad says he did tell the council in December last year.

“I have double-checked and I am certain I have spoken to (council liaison officer) Donna about listing DAB Wholesales on my register in December 2019, post election,’’ an email sent at 5.26pm says.

“That company wasn’t even trading.’’

An email sent from council liaison officer Donna Sacca at 5.29pm confirms this version of events.

“I have spoke to DLM Abiad in relation to DAB Wholesales and his register of interest. He has reminded me that in December he wrote on a post it note for me to arrange it to be added to his register of interests at that time. I do recall it — apologies but it must have got overlooked by me. Apologies if this has caused any problems.’’

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor declined to comment on the matter.

cameron.england@news.com.au

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-business-journal/adelaides-deputy-lord-mayor-houssam-abiad-is-a-customer-of-failed-builder-d-c-homes-and-has-further-business-ties-to-director/news-story/1a6898ccef80a88d33443b342eceeab2