Toowoomba builders Sutton Projects goes under owning thousands to clients, subcontractors

Homeowners across the Darling Downs were left with costly repair bills and incomplete homes after the company abruptly closed down when it ran out of money. Now the Toowoomba builders are set to be liquidated.

Toowoomba building company Sutton Projects is set to be liquidated by March 1 with debts to 40 homeowners and businesses totalling about $708,986.

The company, run by its directors Benjamin and Jacob Sutton, ceased operating in April 2022 midway through multiple renovation projects in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.

It was trading as Renovare Toowoomba until the Queensland Building and Construction Commission cancelled the company’s building licence on February 25.

Worrells was appointed to liquidate the company and to date it has received proof of debt claims from 40 unsecured creditors including the Australian Taxation Office, the ANZ Bank and dozens of subcontractors and building supply wholesalers.

Benjamin John Sutton and Jacob Patrick Sutton. Their company, Sutton Projects Pty Ltd has been placed in liquidation. It was trading under the Renovare Toowoomba franchise.

There are also multiple homeowners who have submitted QBCC insurance claims for incomplete or defective work.

The liquidators reports, sighted by The Chronicle, lists $708,986 in debts to unsecured creditors.

Sadly, the creditors report states these unsecured creditors were unlikely to receive any compensation as there was insufficient value in assets held by the company.

The report states that several employees are listed as priority creditors and will be paid a percentage of the money owed to them on March 1.

A final vote has been called for February where the creditors will be asked to approve the latest round remuneration for the liquidators.

Photos of Sutton Projects/Renovare Toowoomba incomplete work at Christine Bourke's home.

Photos of Sutton Projects/Renovare Toowoomba incomplete work at Christine Bourke's home.

Toowoomba homeowner Christine Burke said the liquidation brought little comfort as she was still living in a partially constructed home more than two years after signing a contract with Sutton Projects.

She was listed as an unsecured creditor and has claimed payments made to the company for work that was never completed.

Meanwhile Ms Burke has been left to haggle with builders and the QBCC insurance assessors to finish her renovation.

“Renovare initially quoted us about $300,000 for the job, they took $200,000 but only got half of it finished and I have had to use half my insurance payout to fix the defects,” she said.

“The liquidation doesn’t really affect me because we won’t get anything from it.”

With construction cost at an highest, no builder has been able to provide a quote within the limits of Ms Burke’s QBCC insurance payout which means Ms Burke must project manage the build herself to save on costs.

Benjamin Sutton was contacted for comment, however declined the opportunity.