Major construction firm Lloyd Group has been placed in administration
The Melbourne firm that specialises in infrastructure work for state governments and turned over $275m last year has been placed in administration.
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The future of almost 60 construction projects and the jobs of about 200 staff are up in the air after major construction firm Lloyd Group was placed in voluntary administration.
The Port Melbourne-based business will now be put up for sale by the administrators, who are yet to reveal details around the six group companies’ debt position.
Previous projects completed by the group include the Tesla showroom at Fortitude Valley in Queensland, the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club in NSW, and the Frankston Heights Primary School in Victoria.
Deloitte Turnaround & Restructuring partners Sam Marsden, Sal Algeri, Jason Tracy and Tim
Norman were appointed voluntary administrators by the directors of Lloyd Group, effective March 31.
Lloyd Group, Deloitte said, specialises in the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure projects for state and local government clients, primarily in Victoria and NSW. “The appointment effects 59 projects under construction – 29 in Victoria, 30 in
NSW,’’ Deloitte said.
“The business has approximately 200 employees.’’
READ MORE:Financier puts Apricity into administration
The company’s financial report for the 2021/22 financial year shows it turned over $275.7m, up from $158.7m the previous year, however its profit fell from $2.1m to $483,270.
The company had a strong increase in its net cash position over the year, with cash on hand up from $3.7m to $9.5m
A $500,000 dividend was paid to the owners, the Lloyd family.
The report did note that the profitability of some projects had been severely affected after the end of the financial year, with rain and flooding largely to blame.
“The construction industry has experienced many challenges, the majority of which are unprecedented as a collective,’’ the report says.
These included pandemic restrictions, supply chain and freight cost issues, labour shortages and La Nina rain and flood events,’’ the company said.
“The La Nina rain and flood events that occurred since balance date have exacerbated the impacts of the other factors and have resulted in procurement losses, project delays, insurance claims and subcontractor insolvencies that have had material impacts on a number of projects in (the) 2023 financial year,’’ the company said.
“At the date of issuing this financial report it is not possible to reliably estimate the full financial impact of these events.’’
Mr Marsden said the construction sector as a whole had been facing challenges.
“Like others in the construction sector, and despite significant effort, Lloyd Group has been unable to overcome increasingly challenging circumstances over recent months that have eroded project margins, culminating in our appointment today,’’ he said.
“We do appreciate that this news will be unsettling and potentially disruptive for employees and project stakeholders, contractors, and suppliers.
“In these early days, we will be undertaking an urgent assessment of the business’s financial position and project-by-project status, and immediately commence communication with project principals and stakeholders.
“We will also immediately commence an accelerated sale process and hold discussions with parties that might be interested in taking on individual projects’’
According to its website, Lloyd Group was set up by Trevor Lloyd in 1979 as a small, family-owned contracting business in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne.
“The business has steadily evolved into a pre-eminent construction group with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Geelong,’’ the website says.
The business is now run by Clinton and Dustin Lloyd.
Deloitte said no further details would be released at this early stage of the administration.
Originally published as Major construction firm Lloyd Group has been placed in administration
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