A deadline to secure funding to keep embattled housing developer Bathla Group afloat has been pushed out to Monday as creditors absorb a breakdown of the group’s $3.4 billion debt.
Insolvency advisory Teneo has been scrambling to secure short-term funding for Bathla since it entered voluntary administration in late August.
A creditors’ meeting on Friday was presented details of the company’s debt picture.
Teneo will continue negotiations with lenders over the weekend to try to secure funding ahead of a staff meeting on Monday to inform Bathla employees if a short-term package has been agreed.
Money to cover payroll had been secured through refunds of bonds held by entities such as Sydney Water, a source close to the negotiations told AAP on Friday.
“It’s a very volatile situation because there’s no money and time is running out,” said the source, who asked not to be named for commercial privacy reasons.
The worst-case scenario if no funding came through was for building operations to shut down, they said.
Figures presented to creditors showed 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.
On Thursday, administrator Stephen Longley said Bathla’s employees had engaged with Teneo constructively, but stressed the payroll target was only the first hurdle.
“The situation is complex,” he said in a statement, adding the short-term funding administrators were still attempting to secure would only afford a few weeks of breathing room.
Bathla is one of Sydney’s largest residential developers and has 45 projects under construction.
Should they fail to secure a lifeline from lenders, the home developer is expected to be wound up after the NSW government declined to bail it out.
According to Bathla’s website, the group has 20,000 apartments and 7000 dwellings in its delivery pipeline.
The projects comprise a significant share of the NSW government’s target of 75,400 new homes a year for five years until 2029.
Homebuyers who bought off-the-plan have been left in the dark, uncertain when, or if, their properties will be completed, while contractors have been left scrambling to recoup debts.
Some private lenders have called in receivers to take control of certain sites, while others have taken steps to assure investors they are not overly exposed.
Founded in NSW in 1997, Bathla joins a long list of Australian home developers which have recently entered voluntary administration or liquidation.
Founder Bhart Bhushan described the move as an “orderly restructure” and cited a range of circumstances, including tax changes in the May federal budget and falling buyer confidence.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
