A collapsed property developer’s lender has been penalised as Australia’s finance watchdog investigates knock-on effects of the major building firm’s failure.
Bathla Group, one of Sydney’s largest residential developers, entered voluntary administration in late August after governments refused to deliver a bailout package.
It stood down more than 200 staff and halted construction projects, owing $3.4 billion to creditors.
That figure includes $3.08 billion to secured lenders, $130 million to unsecured lenders, $145 million to the tax office and $4 million to employees.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched an investigation in the wake of the company’s collapse in a bid to trace the loans.
The watchdog on Monday announced it issued interim stop orders to Adelaide-based private credit firm Angas Securities.
The commercial lender did not adequately inform other investors about their vulnerable financial position because of its loans to Bathla, it said.
As a result, the company is temporarily halted from offering or selling interests in two of its funds.
The commission said it would consider whether or not to issue permanent stop orders after giving the company an opportunity to respond to its findings.
Angas Securities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Commissioner Simone Constant said ASIC was working to understand how much Bathla’s collapse was impacting mum and dad investors.
The developer’s collapse highlighted the importance of private creditors being transparent, she said.
“Investors need clear and timely information about the risks they are taking on, particularly when circumstances change and private credit loans run into difficulty,” Ms Constant said.
Ms Constant said the watchdog was continuing its broader crackdown on private credit.
“We will act swiftly where we are concerned investors are not being given the full picture about the risks they face,” she said.
In defending the government’s decision not to bail out the company, NSW Premier Chris Minns said its finances were opaque and difficult to decipher.
“This is a very strange corporate structure involving a hell of a lot of debt, largely collected from private credit, not through the banks and traditional finances,” he said.
According to Bathla’s website, the group has 20,000 apartments and 7000 dwellings in its delivery pipeline, comprising a significant share of the NSW government’s target of 75,400 new homes a year for five years until 2029.
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