GM of failed stone-cutting business wins new licence

THE former general manager of a failed Southportbased stone cutting operation has been granted a new licence to operate by the building watchdog after being cleared by an investigation into his role in the collapse of the business.

Southport-based GMG Stone Pty Ltd, along with four related entities comprised of GMG Victoria Holdings Pty Ltd, GMG Toowoomba Pty Ltd, Galea Marble & Granite Industries Pty Ltd and GMG

Wholesale Pty Ltd, were placed into liquidation in March, 2019 owing millions to creditors.

The company’s founding director Pantaleone Galea was excluded from the industry by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission as a result.

The ban means he cannot hold a contractor or nominee supervisor licence or be a director, secretary or influential person for a QBCC-licensed company for three years from the date of the liquidation.

An investigation was launched into his managerson Mathew Galea who ran the business, which installed kitchen benchtops at some of the Gold Coast’s most luxurious buildings, including Soul, Circle on Cavill and the Hilton hotel in Surfers Paradise.

A QBCC spokesman said the investigation concluded that there is “no lawful basis to determine Mr Galea is an excluded person at this time”.

QBCC licence searches show after he was cleared by the investigation, Mathew Galea in August last year was granted a licence as a nominee supervisor in stone masonry with no conditions.

Mathew Galea’s company, MJG Stone, was established six months prior to GMG going into liquidation and was granted a QBCC trade contractor licence in November 2018.

The business operates from the same premises as previously used by GMG Stone.

A recent report from liquidators Tracy Knight and Damien Lau of Bentleys estimates a return to creditors of between 12.05 and 15.07 cents in the dollar from GMG Stone. Unsecured creditors are owed $1.973 million.

The company’s largest creditors include the Australian Taxation Office (owed $1.587 million), Office of State Revenue (owed $88,757), The Faultless Stone Trust (owed $22,835) and Superkote Glass (owed $14,579).

In May 2020, $163,423 was paid out to former employees for outstanding superannuation, wages, leave, payment in lieu of notice and redundancy.