Claims of unpaid work by subcontractors on family home of Total Lifestyle Builders director Allan Ernest Stroud
A newly-appointed liquidator is looking into subbies’ claims that the sole director of a collapsed Brisbane building company had unpaid work done on his family home before it was sold.
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Liquidators have launched an investigation into claims of unpaid work by subcontractors on a million dollar family home that was sold just before the occupant’s construction company went into voluntary liquidation.
Total Lifestyle Builders Pty Ltd, which once billed itself as Brisbane’s premier home extension and renovation business, appointed a liquidator in June to wind up its affairs.
At the time the sole director of the company Allan Ernest Stroud advised that his company owed $1.05m to unsecured creditors. Mr Stroud and his wife Dian Patricia Stroud hold all the shares in Total LifeStyle Builders which was registered in 2004.
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Last week creditors replaced the previous builder-appointed liquidator with Hall Chadwick’s Ginette Muller and Marcus Watters.
Ms Muller said they have started an investigation into claims by a subcontractor that he has not been paid for working on Mr Stroud’s house.
“We’re investigating whether that liability is one that should properly be pursued against the director and not the company, particularly where we understand the house has now been sold,” she said.
“We have also been told that there have been other real property transfers that require further scrutiny and these are the subject of our further investigations and inquiries.”
According to CoreLogic a house in Milton, owned since 2008 by Dian Stroud, was sold in late April for $1.065 million. The house was listed on ASIC documents as the couple’s address.
Also, in April Mr Stroud transferred a commercial building in Chermside — which was owned by him and his wife and was his business office — to Dian Stroud. It last sold in 2012 for $440,000.
Subbies United spokesman John Goddard said the collapse of Total Lifestyle Builders and recently another company BulkBuild highlighted the problem of builders appointing administrators and liquidators to wind up their companies.
In both cases creditors replaced the initial appointees.
“We want the Government and ASIC to make changes so that at the very least, creditors email addresses must be supplied as part of the first creditors report to give them the opportunity to band together and be in control of their own destiny,” Mr Goddard said.
“After all, it’s their money that has been lost.”
Mr Goddard said action needed to be taken because there will be more construction company collapses on their way.
“When all the (COVID-19) government subsidies run out it’s really going to hit the fan,” he said,
“Liquidators are hiring more people and (they’re) gearing up for the big rush.”
The Courier-Mail has attempted to contact Mr Stroud for comment.