Property developer Bathla Group has stood down almost two-thirds of its workforce following its entry into voluntary administration earlier this year. About 213 of Bathla's 350 staff were stood down at a meeting in Sydney, and construction on several projects has halted. Homebuyers who bought off-the-plan have been left in the dark, uncertain when, or if, their properties will be completed, while contractors are scrambling to recoup debts.
Administrators Teneo announced they had secured short-term funding through five lenders to maintain limited operations for a further two weeks while longer-term solutions are explored. The arrangements allow for central support required for construction to continue on projects associated with the participating lenders. However, significant work remains to secure funding for all projects.
Bathla is one of Sydney's largest residential developers, with 45 projects under construction and a delivery pipeline of 20,000 apartments and 7,000 dwellings. Figures presented to creditors put Bathla's total debt at $3.4 billion, including $3.08 billion to secured lenders, $130 million to unsecured lenders, $145 million to the tax office, and $4 million to employees. The company entered voluntary administration in late August after the NSW government declined to bail it out.
Bathla is among a growing list of Australian home developers that have recently entered voluntary administration or liquidation. The crisis at Bathla threatens the fate of roughly 2,000 homes currently under construction in New South Wales and impacts the NSW government's target of 75,400 new homes a year until 2029.
