Property Solutions Holdings and affiliated companies go into liquidation, owing millions

Property Solutions Holdings and its affiliated companies are being liquidated following the failure of a major project on the Gold Coast in 2022.

Another major Australian developer has gone into voluntary liquidation following the collapse of a major project on the Gold Coast last year.

Property Solutions Holdings, responsible for some of Brisbane’s most famous urban renewal projects, is leaving behind debts running into millions of dollars, the Courier Mail reports.

The company was founded in 1990 and was responsible for successful developments including The Barracks on Petrie Terrace and Centro on James Street in Fortitude Valley.

Despite its big ticket projects, the company had struggled in recent years due to funding problems and the impact of Covid-19 on the construction industry.

In 2022, one of the group’s affiliated companies Nerang Street Pty Ltd was forced to call in administators, with its prized $500m Queen St Village project going bust.

The project collapse left creditors owed approximately $80m, including some of Queensland’s largest builders.

Hutchinson Builders recently auctioned the riverfront home of Property Solutions director David Blanck to claim back money as financier of the Queen St project.

The company, responsible for some of Brisbane’s famous urban renewal projects, is leaving behind debts running into millions of dollars.

In a report to ASIC, Nerang Street Pty Ltd blamed the pandemic, a change in property market valuations, and an inability to meet funding arrangements for its financial troubles.

Reports filed by Mr Combis with ASIC, obtained by the Courier Mail, show that other companies in the group owe the Australian Taxation Office over $2.4m.

Ormeau Properties owes $887,528 and Nundah Village Shopping Centre Pty Ltd owes $1.526m. The ASIC filings also indicate that Property Solutions Holdings is owed more than $12m by other companies in the group and, in turn, owes millions to related entities. Nundah Village Shopping Centre Pty Ltd and Property Solutions is unrelated to ISPT, the current owners and managers of the centre in Brisbane’s northside.

Property Solutions Holdings won multiple awards for its developments, which numbered over 150 in its heyday, including Circa Nundah, SW1, and Citygate.

The company also offered property investment, funds management, asset management, and property management services. Additionally, it began developing industrial estates in the Yatala Enterprise Area, located midway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The company had struggled in recent years due to funding problems and the impact of Covid-19 on the construction industry.

It came a day after Proclaimed “industry-leading” Melbourne construction company Interface Constructions Victoria Pty Ltd entered external administration after a string of credit inquiries last month.

Administrators Richard Lawrence and Richard Albarran from accounting group Hall Chadwick were appointed to the company last Tuesday according to a notice of appointment listed on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) website.

The latest industry data from CreditorWatch’s Business Risk Index report named construction as the second-highest industry to be at risk of businesses going under, with 0.7 per cent of companies going into insolvency.

Last month, brick manufacturing company Brickworks announced it would close its Western Australian subsidiary Austral due to the company running at a loss in recent years off the back of a reduction in building activity.

A week earlier, Queensland-based shed supplier Transportable Shade Sheds went into liquidation after failing to supply customers with their purchases and not paying their workers leave entitlements.

Over 1,200 building companies closed their doors during the 2021-22 financial year, as analysts predict more insolvencies within the sector on the horizon.

Originally published as Property Solutions Holdings and affiliated companies go into liquidation, owing millions