Press release
Grant Thornton partners appointed as liquidators to the Porter Davis Homes Group (PDH Group)
31 Mar 2023
On 31 March 2023, Said Jahani, Matt Byrnes and Cameron Crichton of Grant Thornton Australia were appointed liquidators of 14 companies in the Porter Davis Homes Group (PDH Group).
The liquidators’ appointment is over all PDH Group operating and employing companies in Victoria and Queensland, except Englehart Homes. Englehart Homes, which was acquired by the Group in late 2021, is not subject to the appointment and is continuing to operate in its own right.
The liquidators will not be trading the PDH Group companies and works on current builds will cease immediately. However, the liquidators are working urgently to determine if a solution can be found to support customers and some employees, including by engaging with key stakeholders and potential interested parties who may be willing to take over the current customer contracts.
Porter Davis has over 1,500 current homes in progress in Victoria and a further 200 homes in Queensland. There are also 779 signed contracts with customers where building has yet to commence.
Investigations will continue into the reasons for the collapse, a spokesperson from Grant Thornton stated: “The extremely challenging environment for residential home building has directly contributed to the PDH Group’s financial position, with rising input costs, supply chain delays, labour shortages, and a drop in demand for new homes in 2023 impacting the Group’s liquidity.
“Notwithstanding the financial support from shareholders and lenders, the Group has exhausted options to secure the further funding required to allow Porter Davis to continue to operate viably, and the Directors were left with no option but to place the companies into liquidation,” continued Grant Thornton spokesperson.
Porter Davis has around 470 employees and was forecasting revenue of $555m in FY23.
The PDH Group Board of Directors stated they regret the current circumstances and that their efforts to secure a funding solution for the Group could not be achieved. They further acknowledged the Group’s employees for their hard work and commitment to Porter Davis, and were hopeful that a solution could be found to support Porter Davis customers in completing their homes.
Creditors and customers can visit this link for more information. Customers with contracts may register their claims by directly contacting the VMIA, in relation to Victorian builds, or the QBCC, in relation to Queensland builds, on the following contact details:
VMIA vmia.vic.gov.au
Phone: (03) 9270 6900 / Email: contact@vmia.vic.gov.au
QBCC qbcc.qld.gov.au
Phone: 139 333
Update 04/04/2023
We understand the customer webinar scheduled for 10:00am this morning reached capacity and that some customers were unable to join the session.
The recording has been uploaded and is now available for customers and stakeholders to view here: https://www.grantthornton.com.au/creditors-information/creditors-information-n-t/pdh-group-pty-ltd/
Should customers have any further queries they can email pdhgroupcustomers@au.gt.com
Media enquiries please contact:
Mikala Spark
Senior Communications Manager
M +61 412 334 851
E mikala.spark@au.gt.com
Experts / Authors
Mikala Spark
Senior Communications Manager at Grant Thornton Australia
