- Construction firm Pindan Group has gone into external administration, possibly leaving hundreds of subcontractors out of pocket by thousands of dollars
- It comes as some subcontractors this morning have walked off their sites as the Shadow Commerce Minister Vince Catania said that workers have been left empty-handed
- Pindan currently employs 280 people, 500 subcontractors, and 400 trade suppliers across 68 ongoing projects
- Catania said the State Government had an obligation to urgently settle unpaid invoices directly with subcontractors for government projects
- Pindan is owned by Singapore-based Oxley Holdings who said in a statement released on the Singaporean stock exchange that COVID-19 was to blame
Construction firm, Pindan Group, has gone into external administration, possibly leaving hundreds of subcontractors out of pocket by thousands of dollars.
Yesterday afternoon Sam Freeman, Vincent Smith and Colby O’Brien of Ernst and Young assumed ownership of the company which was established in 1977 and now has offices in Queensland and New South Wales.
It comes as some subcontractors this morning walked off their sites as the Shadow Commerce Minister, Vince Catania, said that they have been left empty-handed.
In an internal email to staff, Pindan Group managing director, Scott Davison, and executive director, Tony Gerber, reportedly told staff it was the toughest decision they have made.
Pindan currently employs 280 people, 500 subcontractors, and 400 trade suppliers across 68 ongoing projects.
Pindan Group is currently working on many state government initiatives in Western Australia, including an $11 million redevelopment of Hedland High School, a $35 million annual housing maintenance deal, and the $4 million Tom Price emergency services centre.
On top of this are apartment developments like Clifton & Central which is currently over 50 per cent sold.
Catania said rumours and speculation regarding Pindan Group’s financial future were causing concern for many subcontractors across WA awaiting significant payments for work already undertaken.
“I understand this issue is distressing for tradies and their families who have purchased materials and paid staff up-front and are now many thousands of dollars out of pocket,” Catania said.
“These projects represent millions of dollars of work for tradies, who may have been involved in anything from electrical work, plumbing, air conditioning, earthworks, or providing site security,” Catania added.
“At the moment we have tradies who are refusing to undertake further work for Pindan because of fear they won’t be paid. This means that housing maintenance work is not being undertaken, despite the desperate need for social housing across the State,” he concluded.
Catania said the State Government had an obligation to urgently settle unpaid invoices directly with subcontractors for government projects.
Pindan is owned by Singapore-based, Oxley Holdings, who said in a statement released on the Singaporean stock exchange that COVID was to blame.
“Due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic that caused delays to construction activities, project completions and collection of project proceeds, the board of directors of Pindan Group decided to place Pindan Group into voluntary administration,” CEO Ching Chiat Kwong said.
Oxley said it expects to take a non-cash charge of approximately $48.3 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2021, writing off Pindan net assets.
The news came after recent reports that former Pindan Group director, Nicholas Allingame, had launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the company over unpaid bonuses.