List of Bathla creditors revealed
Bathla’s collapse has left a private-credit lender list stretching across more than 40 financiers, alongside $145 million owed to the Australian Taxation Office and another $130m to unsecured creditors.
The Sydney developer owes about $3.4 billion to known creditors, according to preliminary figures presented by administrators Teneo at the first creditors’ meeting this month.
About $3.08b is owed to secured lenders.
Another $42m in land tax is due.
Some $4m is to be paid to employees for wages and superannuation.
The debt figures remain preliminary as Teneo continues to investigate Bathla’s affairs.
Bob Ell, PAG take control of projects
Among the lenders publicly identified are Balmain, Centuria Bass, Credit Connect, CVS Lane Capital Partners, Keyview, La Trobe Financial, MaxCap, PAG, Ray White Capital and Wingate.
Other lenders identified in reporting include Funding Commercial, Ingweson Lansdown, Keystone Capital, Koa Capital, Oterra, OSK Capital, Pacific 8, Pioneer Wealth, Quay Financial, RELI Capital, Solido, Vangeld and Wentworth Finance.
All up, about 43 lenders are understood to have been involved with some now exercising rights over individual sites (debts is spread across individual projects rather than the group as a whole).
Last week, Bob Ell’s Leda group took control of several Bathla projects.
Meanwhile PAG has committed to fund contractors directly on a 312-apartment project at Pemulwuy (continues below).
Multi-billion dollar debt
PAG is understood to be Bathla’s largest lender, with more than $300m extended. Centuria Bass has about $280m while Credit Connect is understood to have lent c$270m.
Earlier this month Teneo secured a c$4m emergency funding package from five lenders to keep some projects operating for about two weeks: La Trobe Financial, PAG, Centuria Bass and Ray White Capital are among the lenders understood to be participating.
About 213 of Bathla’s 350 employees were stood down with construction suspended on projects whose lenders did not provide further funding.
Construction was costing the group $1m-$1.3m a week according to the administrator.
The group has about 45 projects under construction, comprising roughly 2,500 homes, and a broader pipeline of about 14,000 dwellings.
Portfolio sell-down
Bathla’s 219 sites have been valued at about $4.9b.
About $400m was for sale or under contract at the first creditors’ meeting.
Teneo is now assessing which projects can be completed and which assets need to be sold or transferred to lenders. The full creditor register hasn’t been released.
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