Qld Cedar Constructions: Gold Coast construction company goes into administration
Another blow to the construction industry as ANOTHER construction company goes bankrupt
- Qld Cedar Constructions has been placed under guardianship
- Questions have been raised about whether it was properly licensed
- Final blow to the controversial construction sector
A Gold Coast construction company has reached the wall amid questions over the proper permit to build.
Qld Cedar Constructions, which has been operating in the Gold Coast since 2017 and specializes in both commercial and residential construction projects, went into voluntary administration on April 28.
It is the latest in a long list of construction companies that have collapsed as the industry grapples with skyrocketing prices for materials, rising inflation and labor costs.
QLD Cedar Constructions went into voluntary administration on April 28
The company’s president, Sung Hoon Lee, was banned from the industry for three years starting in 2015 after one of his previous companies, S&S Tiles, went bankrupt, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.
Qld Cedar had had planning permission in the past, but it was suspended in January 2020 for no candidate and was canceled three months later.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to QLD Cedar Constructions for comment.
William Cotter of Robson Cotter Insolvency Group has been appointed as liquidator.
Mr Cotter said it was too early to say why the company had gone bankrupt.
It comes as a deluge of Australian construction companies that have gone under in recent months.
Last week, Melbourne-based construction company Mahercorp told its clients it will introduce voluntary administration.
Up to 730 homes will be affected, but all properties are believed to be insured.
President and CEO Steve Maher said the company voluntarily filed for bankruptcy because it was the “only option” after learning a major insurer would no longer support the company.
“I want to emphasize that Mahercorp has not collapsed and is not in liquidation,” he said in a statement emailed to clients this week.
Mr Maher said he wanted to work with an administrator to make the company “more sustainable” so it could complete the homes it started.
“It’s no secret that all builders are facing unprecedented challenges right now. he added.
“Construction costs are skyrocketing — material and labor costs are at record highs and rising inflation is putting enormous pressure on builders.”
Last week Australia’s largest brick maker closed a key factory, citing poor sales.
Masonry giant Brickworks confirmed in a statement Thursday that it would mothball its Cardup factory, the company’s last factory in Western Australia.
A deluge of construction companies have gone under in recent months as companies grapple with rising costs and material scarcity
Brickworks said its WA arm, Austral, has reported losses in recent years with falling sales due to a “slowdown in construction activity.”
Construction companies are still reeling from the effects of the Covid pandemic and the global shortage of timber and building materials due to choked supply chains affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
This has caused material costs to increase by more than 20 percent since early 2022, with some items rising even more.
Pine has more than doubled in price, while reinforcing steel, glass, drywall, fiber cement and other materials have also increased.
Such price increases meant that many permanent contract construction projects were no longer viable.
Across Australia, bankrupt companies owe hundreds of millions of dollars to subcontractors, traders, customers and the tax authorities.
Some of the biggest names in the Australian construction industry have gone bankrupt in the past year, including Probuild, Home Innovation Builders, Privium, Condev Construction and Pivotal Homes.