CREDITORS of Consolidated Constructions are expected to grill administrator Gary Anderson over the company’s final actions when he fronts a creditors committee meeting today (March 18).
There will be particular interest in the fate of at least $3.5 million paid to Consolidated in the weeks prior to its collapse.
This includes $2.3 million paid to Consolidated in early February to settle a long running but hitherto unreported dispute with the former owners of the David Jones property in central Perth.
While $2.3 million was a handy boost, it fell a long way short of the $6.5 million Consolidated had been seeking from Bellenvale Pty Ltd to cover variations and delays in the David Jones refurbishment.
Creditors contacted by WA Business News are also mystified by the actions of Consolidated managing director Steven Yovich immediately prior to the collapse.
It’s understood he was personally signing cheques for hundreds of thousands of dollars at 4.45pm on Friday February 27, the last working day before the appointment of Mr Anderson as administrator.
Some creditors are also keen to learn more about how Mr Anderson, who runs his own small insolvency practice, plans to manage the administration of Consolidated, which was one of the biggest construction firms in Perth and also had operations in Sydney.
Mr Anderson told the first meeting of creditors last week that Consolidated had debts of about $12 million and a likely shortfall of $5 million, based on very preliminary ‘back of the envelope’ calculations.
Other building firms have been eyeing Consolidated’s unfinished projects, especially the recently commenced $28 million RAC head office being built in Wellington Street.
Consolidated suffered a succession of problems in the lead up to its collapse.
As well as the David Jones project, it had major problems on Christmas Island.
It was also fighting a running battle with the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
