NSW, ACT builder collapses into liquidation owing $5.7m

A building company that straddled two different states and territories has collapsed, leading to a “domino effect” impacting 130 projects and 80 staff members.

A building company that straddled two different states and territories has collapsed, leading to a “domino effect” impacting 130 projects and 80 staff members.

On Friday, creditors voted to place Cubitt’s Granny Flats and Home Extensions into liquidation.

The builder worked in both NSW and the ACT and been in business for 30 years.

News.com.au previously reported that the family-owned business had been placed into administration earlier this year and had debts of $5.7 million.

Of its substantial debts, $2.6 million of that is owed to 77 tradies.

At an administration meeting at the end of last week, creditors voted to liquidate Cubitt’s.

The appointed administrators Richard Stone and Brett Lord of insolvency firm RSM Australia have now become the liquidators.

“The failure of one business has a domino effect on so many people, from staff, to clients, suppliers and other stakeholders,” Mr Stone said. “Today, these impacts are being compounded by a fragile economy and businesses and households who are doing it tough.”

The collapse has left 130 projects at various stages of completion in limbo and 80 staff members have lost their jobs.

Cubitt’s Granny Flats has gone into liquidation.

The liquidators have managed to scrape together what they hope might be some kind of return for creditors.

NSW-based construction firm Acrow Homes Pty Ltd purchased some of the company’s assets, including Cubitt’s business names, intellectual property, project records, and exclusive rights to its customer list, for an undisclosed amount.

In a previous creditor report, insolvency experts estimated that Cubitt’s had assets worth $1.67 million.

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Vince made this payment just 12 days before the company went bust.

News.com.au previously reported on a customer who was left absolutely floored to learn of the collapse of Cubitt’s, as just 12 days earlier they had forked out a $23,000 deposit.

Vince*, who did not want to share his last name, and his wife Katherine, 49, were toying with the idea of building a granny flat in their backyard as another stream of income.

After months of umming and ahhing and back and forth with their preferred builder, Cubitt’s, the Sydney couple finally transferred a $23,000 deposit to the business.

But less than two weeks later, the business went under.

Vince, a dad of three, has now been left wondering how the business was able to take his money at such a late stage if the company had known it was in financial strife.

“It came as a shock,” he told news.com.au. Based on his interactions with staff, he said it appeared to have been a surprise to them, too.

Vince said he only found out about the collapse of Cubitt’s because site surveyors were supposed to visit his backyard this Tuesday, the same day the builder went into external administration.

He said the surveyors called him before they arrived asking if he’d be willing to pay them directly.

When he asked why, they said it was because Cubitt’s had gone under.

“We looked at their display homes, we were excited, we were trying to provide a future for our kids,” he said. “Now we’re just hit with this.”

Cubitt’s Granny Flats had been in business for 30 years before it went under.

In 1994, the eponymous Ian Cubitt launched the business and said he had trained 120 carpenters in that time.

Cubitt’s said it was unable to continue because of the economic downturn flattening builders across the country.

“Due to bank lending conditions, supply prices, taxation changes, insurance prices, Covid recovery and lengthy weather events, Cubitt’s company has suffered more than it can shoulder,” the company said.

Cubitt’s said it had tried to “honour fixed price contracts” in 2021 and the owners, Ian Cubitt, Kim Cubitt and Kate Cubitt, tried to complete builds by financing it through their own personal money.

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Originally published as NSW, ACT builder collapses into liquidation owing $5.7m