Building giant collapses
MELBOURNE Cup winner Paul Lanskey’s Queensland construction business owes subbies and other creditors more than $11m underscoring the deepening woes in the building sector.
A report lodged by liquidators FTI Consulting with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Tuesday reveals Lanskey Constructions Qld Pty Ltd’s 282 unsecured creditors including
the Australian Taxation Office, suppliers and subcontractors are owed $11.2m. FTI declined comment on the report.
This includes a large number of Townsville businesses, including Brazier Motti, Electrotek, Norfab, On the Mark Concrete Pumping and more.
Ben Campbell and John Park, of FTI Consulting, were appointed by directors to wind up the company last month but said the liquidation did not impact other entities in the Lanskey Construction Group.
“The liquidators will seek to manage the affairs of the company in a manner which maximises the outcome for its creditors,” they said in a statement at the time.
“There are currently no staff directly employed by the company. Creditors of Lanskey Constructions Qld will be updated in due course.”
Lanskey, founded in 1986 by Paul Lanskey and Ross Williams, is involved in large commercial projects across Australasia with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland.
Lanskey Construction Qld held a category 5 licence from the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) with allowable annual turnover of $120m.
That licence was suspended by the QBCC last month for failure to meet Minimum Financial Requirements.
The building industry has been hit by a perfect storm of labour shortages and material price hikes in the past 12 months that has seen the demise of major builders including Probuild, Condev, Privium Homes, and Pivotal Homes.
Lanskey had worked on supermarket, retail and restaurant developments for some of the nation’s biggest brands including Woolworths, Coles, Starbucks, A-mart and Myer.
As well as his construction business Mr Lanskey is a horse breeder and part owner of 2019’s Melbourne Cup winner Vow and Declare. Comment has been sought from Mr Lanskey.
The liquidation of Lanskey Constructions Qld comes as one of Australia’s largest home builders and a major sponsor of the renovation television show The Block, the Simonds Group, is considering a capital injection as it faces a prolonged and challenging construction environment.
The Melbourne-based company, that started in 1949 and was ranked in seventh place in the Housing Industry Association largest home builders list this year, faces an uncertain future.
In September, Simonds said it would slash 9 per cent of its workforce after suffering a net loss of $9.7m in the 12 months to June 30 due to rising costs.
Visit the Townsville Bulletin website for the full list of NQ businesses impacted.