Veteran building company Stokes Wheeler goes into liquidation owing $20m
A third generation construction company has gone into liquidation abandoning four major projects including a Gold Coast apartment complex and an aged care facility.
A Queensland building company has gone into liquidation owing about $20 million to creditors, many of which are unlikely to recover the full extent of their losses.
Veteran construction company Stokes Wheeler had four projects under construction on the Gold Coast whose contracts have now been cancelled.
The largest project, a block of 40 apartments at Palm Beach, is being developed by Evoke Property who is seeking to recover $6.49m in debt according to the Courier Mail.
Stokes Wheeler was also building an aged care facility in Sunnybank, a Hostel in Surfers Paradise and a medical centre in Pimpama.
A number of loss-making projects put financial strain on the commercial construction company, and in February, it went into voluntary administration.
A report lodged with ASIC last month by administrators Bill Cotter and Roland Robson, said that the company owed employees up to $1.66m.
Debts of more than $13.5m were thought to be owed to unsecured creditors, and an additional $3.2 owed to secured creditors, including Westpac bank.
The company’s six project trust accounts were all without funds and its retention account had a shortfall of $2.7m, according to the administrator’s report.
Unsecured creditors were warned at the time that they were unlikely to recover their debts if the company were to go into liquidation, which it now has.
Stokes Wheeler was established in 1928 and its portfolio included hospitality, tourism, education, aged care and multistorey residential construction.
According to its website, its philosophy was centred around “completing quality construction projects on the foundations of service and integrity”.
Tech giant’s return-to-office demand
Internal memos show some staff have been told they need to come into the office or risk losing their jobs.
Albo’s $1.2bn pledge amid tariff threat
The Albanese government will invest $1.2bn into Australia’s critical minerals supply, which will likely play a major role in negotiating a tariff carveout from the Trump administration.
‘Sickly’: Huge call for soft drink tax
Doctors battling Australia’s chronic disease scourge want both major parties to implement a tax on ‘sickly’ soft drinks in a major pre-election wishlist.