Western Sydney developer Bathla collapses with $3.4 billion debt
$3.4 billion debt, 500 subsidiaries and 200 stalled projects left thousands of buyers with unfinished homes.
Bathla Group was once Sydney's largest residential builder. It collapsed under crushing debt and deep problems that staff saw coming for years.
The collapse left 500 subsidiaries, 200 stalled projects and thousands of unfinished homes across New South Wales and Victoria. Craig Walker, a former site foreman at Bathla, says the company was built on aggressive cost-cutting and weak quality control.
Management rejected his safety concerns and shut down attempts to flag structural problems. When banks stopped lending to Bathla over improper lending, the company turned to expensive private lenders.
It kept searching for investors to survive. Once those lenders pulled back, the company folded.
Now buyers are locked out of half-finished properties, 60 per cent of workers lost their jobs, and sub-contractors are unpaid.
- $3.4 billion
- Total debt
- 200
- Stalled projects
- 60 per cent
- Workers who lost jobs
- 500
- Subsidiaries in collapse
Why it mattersThousands of ordinary Australians are trapped in half-finished homes they cannot access, while liquidators unwind one of the country's largest property collapses.
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