Pindan reassures contractors

Construction group Pindan said today it planned to make full payments to all sub-contractors by the end of this week, after co-founders George Allingame and David Pringle complete the sale of several properties.

Mr Pringle told Business News the funds management and construction group was trading profitably with a strong order book, but had delayed payments to subbies while it completed a financial restructuring.

Mr Pringle said the changes included moving to a new bank.

This meant the planned property sales took longer than expected, but they were scheduled to settle tomorrow (Thursday).

Mr Pringle said these changes would inject $12 million of new funds into the business.

The changes follow the sale of a 40 per cent stake in Pindan in December 2016 to Singapore group Oxley Holdings for $72 million.

That sale helped the group deal with the aftermath of its contract to build the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in Kalgoorlie, in a joint venture with John Holland.

Mr Pringle said all contractors on the $232 million prison project had been paid in full.

Payments to subcontractors have become a sensitive issue after the recent collapse of several builders, most notably Cooper & Oxley, which was ranked as one of the 10 largest construction companies in WA.

Pindan had group revenue of $356 million in the year to June 2017.

Nationally, it has 23 projects under management – 14 construction projects, four residential land subdivisions, two residential land rezonings and three commercial investment assets. 

It is currently building multiple projects across Western Australia, with a combined value of $830 million, according to data assembled by Business News.

This ranks Pindan as the fourth largest construction company in WA.

Its funds management arm, Pindan Capital, acquired an office in North Sydney in December for $160 million, through a joint venture with global investment firm Starwood Capital Group and Sydney company Arrow Property Investments.