National home builder Porter Davis Homes in liquidation, more than 1700 homes under construction

More than 1700 customers of a collapsed national home builder have been told not to visit their new home sites as liquidators scramble to find replacement builders. Read the latest:

More than 1700 customers of a collapsed national home builder have been told not to visit their new homes as liquidators scramble to find replacement builders.

Liquidators were appointed on Friday morning to national home builder Porter Davis, which had more than 1700 homes under construction.

Porter Davis founder and managing director Anthony Roberts. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Liquidators Said Jahani, Matt Byrnes and Cameron Crichton of insolvency firm Grant Thornton have been appointed to 14 companies in the Melbourne-based PDH Group.

It had work in progress at Helensvale and Nerang on the Gold Coast and also constructs thousands of homes every year in Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

More than 1500 properties had been under construction in Victoria and another 200 in Queensland.

A Porter Davis display home.

Customers of the builder received emails from liquidators Friday morning, telling them their builds would be delayed for an unspecified amount of time “and there is no way this can be avoided”.

“The liquidators are urgently in discussions with interested parties to determine whether there is any potential for another builder to assume your contract and ongoing build,” the email said.

“At this stage, we request customers refrain from attending the site from a safety perspective.

“Until we have been able to determine if we can secure an alternative builder to take over your contract, we request that you do not seek access to the site.”

Customers were advised to seek advice from their lawyers and insurance companies.

Contracts had been signed with a further 779 customers, whose builds were yet to commence, and who are understood to have paid deposits of three per cent of the purchase price.

The group’s debts are yet to be revealed, however The Bulletin understands Gold Coast subcontractors and suppliers are already counting the costs.

Screenshots of Gold Coast homes from the Porter Davis website.

Porter Davis had about 470 employees and was forecasting revenue of $555m in FY23.

A statement from Grant Thornton said the collapse occurred in a challenging time for the sector.

“Rising input costs, supply chain delays, labour shortages, and a drop in demand for new homes in 2023 impacting the group’s liquidity,” it said.

“Notwithstanding the financial support from shareholders and lenders, the group has exhausted options to secure the further funding required to allow Porter Davis to continue to operate viably, and the directors were left with no option but to place the companies into liquidation.”

Screenshots from the Porter Davis website.

The liquidators were not available to provide further detail on the collapse.

Porter Davis’s luxury offshoot Englehart, which it acquired in 2021, will continue to trade.

Porter Davis is the latest in a string of construction companies, most recently PBS Building, to succumb to rising costs and supply issues.

MORE TO COME