For over four months the Uniting Church’s 50-unit retirement complex build site in Yamba has remained devoid of all construction activity and the financial difficulties of the Gold Coast & Lismore-based builder remains unresolved.
The build before scaffolding was removed from the idle construction site.
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This situation for a construction company built on the foundations of a small family business is a far cry from the optimistic outlook of 2011.
The Gold Coast Bulletin, 20 July 2023, p6:
The director of embattled Gold Coast builder GCB Constructions insists his company is viable, despite five more companies joining court action to wind it up.
GCB managing director Trent Clark said he was “determined and confident” of overcoming financial struggles which have seen work slow to a trickle or completely stop at sites along the east coast since May 8.
There has been good news for buyers in GCB’s largest project, Marine Quarter at Southport, who were told via email the site’s tower crane would return to operation and concrete work would recommence this week.
Subcontractors and suppliers of the company have lashed Queensland’s building regulator for not taking more decisive action on GCB’s licence. The licence was restricted on June 26, requiring GCB to submit its accounts weekly and preventing it from taking on new projects without express QBCC approval.
The QBCC acted almost two months after sites had shut down – amid subbies’ complaints they had not been paid – and a month after the wind-up action was initiated…..
Mr Clark did not answer questions about the current status of the wind-up. “Court actions are regularly taken against builders and we are working through these in an orderly fashion,” he said in a statement….
Buildcap, developer of the $97m Marine Quarter development under construction by GCB at Southport, emailed buyers on Wednesday, telling them work was due to ramp up on site this week.
“Works ... include the pouring of the slab of level 26 as well as level 27 stairwell and core walls, along with external facade works such as installation of windows and balustrading, render and painting,” the email said.
But down the NSW coast at Yamba, where GCB was building a 50-apartment retirement building for Uniting, work stalled in October and has not resumed since. One family business owner said they were owed a six-figure sum by the builder, who had ceased all communication with them by February. A statement from Uniting on Wednesday said “disappointingly work on the apartments and clubhouse remains on hold for now.” “While it’s expected that there will be a delay, Uniting is committed to completing all the planned works, including the apartments, and building a vibrant welcoming community,” the statement said.
Mr Clark did not answer the Bulletin’s questions about the Yamba project. GCB is battling major cases with two developers of its projects, which GCB claims owe it more than $14m, neither of which look likely to be resolved in the near future.
Dean Gallagher’s GDI Group, developer of the 27-storey Drift tower at Main Beach, launched action in May against GCB, claiming it failed to lodge security bonds worth more than $3.7m.
In turn, GCB alleges the developer owes them $3.8m in progress payments. The case has been set for a hearing on August 2. GCB is suing the developer of the $196m Ascot Aurora project in Brisbane, seeking more than $10m from a subsidiary of China-owned Poly Global. Poly has lodged a defence and counterclaim in that case, and both parties have been given until mid October to disclose their evidence. Mr Clark did not answer questions on how important succeeding in those cases was to his company’s viability, except to blame the alleged “non-payment from developers” for “some of the hiccups we have experienced”. GCB’s licence remained active on Wednesday.
The Gold Coast Bulletin, 21 January 2023, p.9:
In its most recently-lodged financial reports, for FY2021-22, GCB made $938,755 net profit from revenue of $92.04m. Its FY21 net profit was $1.1m from $67.4m revenue.
The company had gross assets of $25.3m and liabilities of $18.3m, including trade debts of more than $10.7m.
Cashflow would have been in negative territory for the year, had the builder not had access to cash from financing activities, including a share issue, bank loan and other drawdowns. It had $87,947 cash or equivalents at the end of June.
The company is registered as G C B Constructions and solely directed by Trent Clark.
