Canberra builder Ply had debts of more than $42 million, much of it to hundreds of small builders and tradesmen in Canberra, when it collapsed in March, the Federal Court has heard.
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The administrators of the construction firm, which was working on the high-profile Nishi project, went to court last week asking for more time to negotiate deals that might give Ply's creditors a better chance of seeing their money again.
Administrator Alan Hayes swore two affidavits to the court and obtained the judge's permission to keep their contents secret, citing commercial sensitivity to negotiations. The Sydney-based administrator refused to answer questions on Monday.
The court heard that Ply's average yearly revenue was between $120 million and $160 million and that its average project value was $30 million. The company had 32 employees and about 400 subcontractors, most of them working on Ply's major projects, the Nishi commercial and residential developments at Canberra's New Acton precinct and the Astin, Arte and Rex Hotel jobs, all in Canberra.
A resolution to the problems at Nishi was identified by the Federal Court as the key to maximising the return of the creditors' money.
Ply is one of a string of ACT or Queanbeyan-based companies to have gone bust in 2013 and late 2012 while working on high-profile building jobs in Canberra.
The liquidation of Tread Lightly Earthmoving with the loss of more than 50 jobs and the administration of Canberra-based Urban Contractors with up to $6 million in debts to local builders have been blamed on the firms' involvement with the giant lakeside ASIO building.
It is feared that the "domino effect" in the local building industry from the collapses has not yet fully played itself out.
In the Ply court case, Federal Court Justice Lucy Farrell noted that at the first creditors meeting on March 14, 2013, debts of $35,739,000 were claimed and Ply's former parent company, PBS Property Group, lodged proof of debts of more than $6.8 million. The jobs of 30 Ply employees have been terminated since April and all of their entitlements paid.
Mr Hayes told the court that he wanted to negotiate a deed of company arrangement, a binding agreement between Ply and its creditors, which would govern the course of the administration.
Noting that Mr Hayes' tasks were "complex", Justice Farrell agreed to grant the administrator until June 13 to hold another creditors' meeting and to his request that the contents of his affidavit be kept confidential.
