Gympie company that went bust owing $8m to be 'laid bare'

United Project Partners Pty Ltd, part of the United Group, was a Gympie-based project manager and funder of property developments across Toowoomba and Gympie.

A file photo of a man crying. Picture: JULIEN WARNAND

THE financial affairs of a property development company that went bust owing more than $8 million will be laid bare in court.

United Project Partners Pty Ltd, part of the United Group, was a Gympie-based project manager and funder of property developments across Toowoomba and Gympie.

UPP and several associated companies under the directorship of Gympie businessman Gene Farrelly went into liquidation in the middle of 2017, owing a combined $13 million to businesses, and people who had invested their superannuation in the group.

Gene Farrelly, director of United Project Partners Pty Ltd. Picture: Contributed

Writing in a notice to creditors this week, liquidator Adam Ward of Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accountants said he had filed the necessary documents to apply for approval to proceed with a public examination of the affairs of the company and its officers.

"I expect the court to provide a date for the holding of the public examination shortly," he said.

A public examination of the company has been proposed by Mr Ward since June 2018.

Mr Ward previously advised creditors he had delayed the court proceedings while he worked with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, who had indicated they wished to fund the examination of another related company in the group, Secure Holdings (QLD) Pty Ltd.

United Group was established in 2011 by Mr Farrelly and was a one-stop shop for property development and investment.

In Gympie in happier times are Gene Farrelly - Director with United receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from Dr Neil Carrington, the CEO of Act for Kids with some of the tradesman who worked on the project. Picture: Greg Miller

Investors loaned their self-managed super funds to Secure Holdings (QLD) for terms ranging between two to four years with interest payable yearly on interest rates of between 5-8%.

Funds were on-loaned to associated companies like United Project Partners to undertake property development projects across Toowoomba and Gympie.

In his statutory report, Mr Ward found UPP had suffered trading losses from unprofitable property developments and was experiencing severe cash flow shortages.