Administrator appointed as Central Coast builder JBP Construction goes into liquidation
The brakes have been put on three multimillion-dollar high-end residential apartment projects after the collapse of building firm JBP Construction.
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The brakes have been put on three multimillion-dollar high-end residential apartment projects after the collapse of building firm JBP Construction.
The company was placed into voluntary liquidation yesterday citing heavy losses and a lengthy dispute but did not elaborate further.
The company was the main building contractor for three major projects on the Central Coast including the 54-apartment development “Vue” at Kendall St, Gosford.
Other projects included the 24-apartment, $8.9 million “Viciniti” building at Frederick St, Point Frederick, and the 12 luxury apartment $9.8 million development “Se on Terrigal” on Campbell Crescent.
JBP Construction founder and managing director Jake Porteous issued a brief statement to the Express Advocate but given the business is under the control of administrator DVT Group he could not say anything further.
“It was a painful and emotional moment when I made the decision to put JBP Construction into voluntary liquidation,” the statement read.
“I have been working tirelessly for months to not arrive at this point. However, due to significant losses and a lengthy dispute, the financial strain on the company came to breaking point.
“I feel deeply for all the families that have inadvertently been affected by this and I will be working with the liquidators to reach the best possible outcome for all involved.”
Attempts to contact administrator Anthony Resnick from DVT Group to ascertain how much money is owed to secured and unsecured creditors have been unsuccessful.
JBP Construction’s staff were let go yesterday.
On its website JBP Construction said it had 80 employees but it is understood the actual figure is closer to 14.
The collapse of JBP Construction comes as the Vue project, being developed by Central Real, was nearing completion.
Central Real CEO Richard Ellis said while it was not ideal, investors would not be significantly impacted.
“The appointment of liquidators to JBP Constructions is unfortunate,” he said.
“Our purchasers of the Vue project will only be temporarily impacted from a time perspective. “The good news is that, with the security of self-funding and having our own construction division Central Real are in a strong position, we took control of the site within an hour of receiving notification from the liquidators, the Vue purchasers are completely protected.
“We will spend the next couple of days assessing what is required to complete the project and then it will be business as usual delivering a quality luxury development”
Real Estate Institute of NSW president-elect Brett Hunter said the collapse of JBP Construction was not indicative of the Coast’s thriving residential living development market.
Mr Hunter said purchasers should feel confident the projects would continue because the developers would engage other builders.
“The only impact is a delay in delivery,” he said.
“It’s an unfortunate turn of events but it’s not going to impact the end product.”
Similarly Central Real’s Mr Ellis said this hiccup would not impact the Coast’s existing growth.
“I don’t believe the development momentum the Central Coast is currently experiencing will be affected, if you have bought into a project with a strong experienced developer your project will be delivered,” he said.
“We will deliver six projects this year and have three more in the pipeline to launch in 2020.”
*Do you know more about this story? Email richard.noone@news.com.au
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