By Tara Cosoleto AAP and Eleanor Wilson
Collapsed building giant Porter Davis remains without a prospective buyer, after liquidators Grant Thornton partners confirmed it has not identified a suitable company to take over the business.
Australia’s 12th largest home builder went into voluntary administration on Friday 31 March, leaving 1700 homes in Victoria and Queensland hanging in the balance.
Grant Thornton partners was then appointed liquidator for the 14 company group, engaging with dozens of parties over the last two weeks to identify a buyer to take over the group.
That process failed, it announced in a statement on Monday 10 April.
“While there is genuine interest in parts of the Porter Davis Group, the liquidators have not identified any parties that are willing and capable of taking over all builds for Porter Davis customers as part of a single sale transaction,” a group spokesperson said.
“We are continuing to discuss solutions for parts of the Porter Davis group and are aiming to be in a position to finalise those discussions within the next week.
“We also hope to provide further clarity to customers regarding the next steps in completing their build – which for many customers is likely to involve engaging with a new builder of their choice.”
It is understood The CEO of Melbourne real estate investor MIG & Sons, Amit Miglani, was one potential buyer, offering to buy out the company outright.
But a Grant Thornton spokesperson said it doubted the credibility of Mr Miglani’s offer.
“While we have no reason to doubt Mr Miglani’s intention, we do not believe this is a credible offer to acquire the Porter Davis Group,” the spokesperson said.
“Mr Migliani has not undertaken any due diligence and is unable to complete a transaction in an expedited time frame which is a key requirement of the Liquidators.
“We remain in active discussions with a short list of parties in order to find solutions for some Porter Davis customers, and to otherwise provide clarity to the remaining customers in relation to the status of their build, and options for them to engage with new builders to complete their homes.”
The completion of 1500 Victorian Porter Davis builds and a further 200 in Queensland came to a grinding halt at news of the collapse late last month.
Last week, it was reported that more than 250 unfinished Porter Davis homes will be completed while liquidators will introduce replacement builders to other affected customers.
Grant Thornton have been working with staff, certifiers and home owners to find solutions for properties close to completion.
The liquidators have identified more than 250 homes that are expected to qualify for occupation certificates and are capable of being completed given how close they were to being finished.
Porter Davis staff will contact those customers to advise them of the next steps.
Grant Thornton will introduce others to replacement builders in the coming week so they can discuss how their build will be finished.
More than 20 builders have offered to help complete homes for Porter Davis customers.
The liquidators advise customers to still seek their own legal advice to ensure they don’t compromise their insurance entitlements.
“We appreciate this is a stressful time for all Porter Davis stakeholders,”a Grant Thorntonspokeswoman told AAP.
“We thank you for your continued patience while we work to find alternative options and possible solutions for customers.”
The Victorian government is also investigating whether Porter Davis illegally left customersuninsured after taking their deposits.
Builders in Victoria have to buy domestic building insurance policies on behalf of homeowners before they take deposits or any money for projects of more than $16,000.
The requirement falls under the Domestic Building Insurance Ministerial Order.
“We are looking at that actively,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday.
“I just want to remind everybody in this industry, the law applies to everyone. It’s not a matter of choosing to lodge those insurance premiums.”
– With AAP
