Builder with $80m slate in liquidation

A large Wellington commercial building business which worked on school projects and one of the city’s largest apartment developments has gone into liquidation, resulting in security guards being posted at the residential site which now stands silent.

Shareholders in Armstrong Downes Commercial put their company in the hands of David Ruscoe and Russell Moore of Grant Thornton, according to Companies Office records.

The first report is yet to be issued on the builder, undertaking projects sector insiders said yesterday were worth around at least $80 million.

The Hutt Valley-headquartered company worked throughout the Wellington region for the last 20 years and undertook a number of jobs for the Government.

Hutt Valley High School’s $8.6m redevelopment, Chilton St James and Karori West Normal School were education projects the business listed amongst its achievements.

“It’s a surprise,” one sector leader said of the liquidation.

“It happened fast and it’s a reflection of the unstable market. Everyone is busy, but the pressures at the financial end to make sure these things are still delivering.”

The business said it specialised in Government, retail, education, community, office, industrial and multiunit projects in the Wellington region.

“With price rises, Covid and perhaps under-pricing on jobs, it’s not that much of a surprise,” said one sector leader. “To be honest, it was on the cards,” the insider said yesterday.

The company was building Te Aro’s $50m 152-unit Taranaki St project, The Paddington. That is around 80 per cent complete, the insider estimated. The liquidators had security guards at the gates yesterday morning and no work was continuing there right now, he said.

Yet it’s fully sold out and no doubt people who put down deposits will be asking what will happen next, he said.

The Paddington is a low-rise terraced apartment. It’s advertised as sold out.

In Lower Hutt on High St, the company was working on converting an office building to apartments.

“They were also doing quite a bit of work for the Ministry of Education, working on new buildings or refurbishments at around four to five schools in the area,” the sector leader said.

Armstrong Downes Commercial is owned by 2 HB. Its directors are Tony Doile of Lower Hutt and Simon Taylor of Mount Maunganui.

The building business was working on a Wellington City Council park on the waterfront in a job worth about $6m, redeveloping the Frank Kitts Park. It went to schools in the area to engage them in designing a special mural on the fences around the job.

“We are proud to be Hutt Valleybased and owned, the Wellington region is our home,” the company said.

“Our 20-plus years of building in the Wellington region and the personal approach we bring to each and every site sees our clients and architects coming back to us year after year.” The first report is due out within five working days and that might give more of an indication of what’s happened with the builder.

With price rises, Covid and perhaps underpricing on jobs, it’s not that much of a surprise.

Building sector leader