NSW building contractor Edwards Constructions says it will emerge from administration after having secured the support of creditors yesterday to a proposal for directors to maintain $3.3m in ongoing support.
Under the proposal, known as a deed of company arrangement (DOCA), subcontractors and other unsecured creditors will receive payments from the sale of company assets and from the proceeds of an insurance claim, the company said.
“The administrators, Michael Slaven and Aaron Torline from Ernst & Young, reviewed and recommended the proposed DOCA and estimate unsecured creditors will recoup up to 81 cents in the dollar,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“The company will be returned to the directors and the arrangements to settle creditors’ claims will be managed by the current administrators,” he said.
Edwards Constructions Managing Director, Sam Edwards welcomed the move.
"This arrangement will keep people in work, it will keep our projects going and it will put the company in a position to rebuild," he said.
“I know many subcontractors have had to drastically change their businesses, following my company’s problems.”
Earlier this year, a concrete pour collapsed on an Edwards Constructions project in Bonnyrigg.
The company said, while no one was injured, the incident had a catastrophic impact on the business, leading to the appointment of administrators in early October.
“I really regret that some have been left without full payment for their hard work and have only had a choice between a set of unsatisfactory options," Mr Edwards said.
Edwards Constructions has a long history on the Far South Coast, the Shoalhaven and in the Illawarra.
It had successfully completed more than 300 projects in its 30 year history.
“t has been involved in the careers of some of the most respected participants in the industry and been privileged to work alongside some of the regions best subcontractors,” the spokesman said.
