Brisbane building firm Besse Construction goes under owing $1.7m

A Brisbane construction firm has gone under owing creditors an estimated $1.7m, joining the growing list of building companies closing their doors around Australia.

A Brisbane construction company has gone under owing creditors an estimated $1.7m in the latest sign of bad news for the sector.

Besse Construction, which specialised in concrete formwork is being wound up by liquidator Bill Karageozis, after accruing debt to subcontractors, employees and suppliers.

The Toowong-based firm was licensed by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) to complete work worth up to $12m each year. According to QBCC records it undertook 33 residential projects last year worth $1.52m.

In February, the QBCC said Besse could not provide tenders, quotes or enter into any new contracts after failing to meet the watchdog’s financial reporting requirements.

According to a document lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Besse owes some subcontractor more than $300,000.

Tough times for builders

The collapse of Besse come as a Sunshine Coast construction company, whose founder died in a tragic car accident along with his wife, is being liquidated owing an estimated $6.7m.

David Stimpson, of SV Partners, has been appointed administrator of Sunshine Coast-based Makara Constructions, a family-owned business established in 1971 that had grown to be one of Queensland’s leading experts in tilt-up construction. Tilt-up construction involves prefabricating large concrete panels, which are then lifted into place and fastened to a slab.

The company’s founder Robert Makara, 69 and wife Elizabeth, 68, died last year after a single vehicle crash on David Low Way at Pacific Paradise.

According to a document lodged with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) this week, the Australian Taxation Office could be owed as much as $1.1m by Makara with tradies and unsecured creditors owed almost $5m.

According to Queensland Building and Construction Commission records, Makara Construction had its licence cancelled last month after it failed to satisfy the regulator’s financial requirements. The company only completed one job in the 2020/21 financial year worth $245,000.