Court freezes assets of Descon Group Australia amid court action with Sam Arnaout’s Iris Capital

A besieged construction and development company has been slapped with a court-ordered asset freeze after a deal on a billion-dollar project went south.

A besieged construction and development company has been slapped with a court-ordered asset freeze after a deal on a billion-dollar project went south.

Iris Capital, a company directed by billionaire hotelier Sam Arnaout and developer of the mammoth Victoria & Albert Broadbeach project, intended to sue Descon Group Australia, court documents reveal.

Descon had been contracted to build V&A, a 56-floor twin-tower project on the site of the former Niecon Plaza. But the deal broke down in February, leaving the development without a builder on the eve of its construction start date.

Artist impression of Iris Capital's twin tower project Victoria & Albert Broadbeach (V&A Broadbeach), planned for the former Niecon Plaza site.

A construction insurer BCS Broking is also a respondent in the action, currently before the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Justice Peter Applegarth ordered Descon not remove or diminish assets to the value of $648,490 before the matter returns to court.

The order says three payments, totalling that amount, were made by insurer BCS to Descon between March 28 and March 31 this year.

The order also requires Descon to reveal what became of funds paid to Descon by BCS, and requires Descon to hand over bank details for accounts the payments were received into.

The company must also disclose any accounts belonging to managing director Danny Isaac, or other Descon directors, where the funds may have landed.

Details of any assets which were purchased with the funds must also be provided.

Early works have started at the V&A development in Broadbeach. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Mr Isaac spoke out last month over Descon’s multiple court actions, pursuit by a liquidator and a flurry of credit defaults, shrugging them off and pointing to the company’s “healthy forward book” and “large balance sheet”.

A credit agency categorised Descon Group Australia as “impaired”, meaning it was “highly vulnerable to default or insolvency in the short term”.

Descon and its related Adcon companies are battling multiple court cases over alleged unpaid debts.

Descon Group Australia director Danny Isaac.

Pub baron Sam Arnaout. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Despite the apparent troubles, Descon Group’s Queensland builder licence remains unblemished as far the regulator is concerned.

Descon is also no longer builder for Azzura Corporation’s $2.5bn Imperial Towers project.

Descon’s current Gold Coast projects include the Waverley Residences at Southport and the $76m Allure at Chevron Island, which it took on after the $60m collapse of Condev one year ago.