More large Australian construction companies will fail this year, a building insolvency expert has warned, with thousands of sub-contractors, tradies and would-be new homeowners the vulnerable victims.
Andrew Spring, partner at building insolvency specialist Jirsch Sutherland, said it “wasn’t surprising at all” to see two tier-one construction firms go bust in quick succession after Christmas, given the serious headwinds the sector is now facing.
He said it was “a definite possibility” other construction giants would follow Probuild and liquidation” target=”” rel=””>Condev into liquidation, creating a potential “domino-like effect” for sub-contractors and tradies who will be left out of pocket and saddled with debt.
“The industry is in a really difficult position at the moment,” Mr Spring told 9news.com.au, predicting that the tough times would likely stretch into 2023 because “it does take time for the full weight of these sort of (major) insolvencies to come home all the way down the chain”.
Hopeful homeowners who had the misfortune to pick…