Victorian builder ordered to go into liquidation after phone lines disconnect, port-a-loos removed from site

A building company has collapsed after a long, drawn-out death, placing the fate of at least a dozen projects into jeopardy.

A building company has collapsed after a long, drawn-out death, placing the fate of at least a dozen projects into jeopardy.

On Wednesday, the Victorian Supreme Court ordered Apex Homes Australia Pty Ltd to go into liquidation.

Judicial Registrar Gitsham forced the Melbourne-based construction company to liquidate on the grounds of “insolvency” and she said “I am satisfied the requirements under the corporations act are met”.

Concreting business Aerolink Property Group lodged a winding up application against the building company earlier this year over a $46,200 debt dating back to October 2023.

But since they lodged their application, five other creditors joined the case as their debts also went unpaid.

Those creditors were Home and Industrial Soil, Bristol Roofing, Austral Group and ATC Co and the Commissioner of State Revenue.

Matthew Blum of insolvency firm BDO was appointed as the liquidator. News.com.au has contacted him for comment.

News.com.au previously reported that Apex Homes appeared on the brink of collapse after construction work had stalled for months.

Although at the time the company told news.com.au they were battling the winding up application and had employed solicitors to fight the case but in Wednesday’s hearing, no-one from Apex Homes appeared.

Aerolink Property Group’s solicitor Danny Didone of Wyndham Law Offices noted he had not heard anything from Apex Homes for the past six days.

Mr Didone also noted it might take more than a day for the liquidation notice to be lodged with the corporate regulator.

Trashed sites of devastated customers.

Another languishing Apex Homes site.

Apex Homes went into liquidation on Wednesday.

Customers reported the company’s telephone line being disconnected in recent days and a port-a-loo had been removed from a build site.

Despite the sad news about Apex’s demise, some homeowners are somewhat glad because, for the first time in years, they at least have clarity.

“Whilst disappointed this has happened and feel for the employees and staff, at least our family can now move on from the stress of the past 12 months,” one homeowner told news.com.au on the condition of anonymity.

“I’m relieved however it’s bitter sweet as it’s horrible seeing a company go bankrupt and people losing their jobs.”

It doesn’t appear to be the same for tradies who have been left out of pocket.

A CreditorWatch report news.com.au has obtained shows that Apex Homes has had four payment defaults lodged against it since July, although one was paid.

There are still outstanding debts of $19,000, $3000 and $160,000, not to mention the ongoing court case.

Some tradies told news.com.au the company was trying to pay back its debts and that Apex was “really trying”.

An Apex Homes spokesperson previously told news.com.au that they had been struggling to pay debts “since Covid” and that it had been a “turbulent” and “difficult” three years.

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Overgrown weeds on an Apex Homes site.

Another abandoned site.

One customer said he was relieved as the liquidation meant he wouldn’t be in constant doubt about the completion of his site.

News.com.au previously spoke to half a dozen fed up Apex Homes customers who said the company had been on the brink of collapse for years.

One customer, Jason*, said Apex had “every excuse under the sun” as to why his build was being delayed, including public holidays like long weekends, Easter and even Ramadan. “Their communication is abysmal.”

Another customer, Felix*, signed a contract with Apex Homes in late 2021 but said there’s been a massive staff turnover in the last two and-a-half years.

“Almost everyone has left from the people we dealt with back then,” he told news.com.au.

Their “communication was awful”, he added. “It’s a horrendous experience.”

Another family who are building with the construction firm said their house had been stuck up at the lockup stage for months with no end in sight.

“I talked to all my contractors on site. Literally everybody is owed money,” Alan* told news.com.au.

Jessica* and her partner moved from overseas to Melbourne and embarked on a journey to build their dream home, but say their experience with Apex has been far from ideal.

“I have an ongoing joke that we may as well buy a fancy tent and just move onto the cement pad and live,” Jessica said.

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