{"id":882868,"date":"2026-09-07T04:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T04:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/882868\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T04:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T04:46:15","slug":"financially-distressed-developer-bathla-group-suspends-60-per-cent-of-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/882868\/","title":{"rendered":"Financially distressed developer Bathla Group suspends 60 per cent of workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The debt-ridden Bathla Group has reached a short-term funding agreement with five of its lenders which will continue its survival for another two weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The property developer&#8217;s administrator, Teneo, says this funding will allow construction to continue on those lenders&#8217; construction projects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">However, construction on other projects will be suspended today, resulting in approximately 213 employees being stood down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The group has around 350 employees, many of whom are on working visas, who found out their fate this morning at an all-staff meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Administrators would not reveal which lenders had provided the temporary lifeline or which of Bathla&#8217;s 45 active projects were still going ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">However, the ABC understands the five lenders include La Trobe, PAG, Centuria Bass and Ray White Capital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The funding amount is between $3 and $5 million.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A red sign of Bathla at a construction site. \" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788756371_149_450d6cabc326af37951a89960b0f207e.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Bathla&#8217;s administrators have stood down 200 of its staff. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Sites belonging to lenders who did not provide funding to Bathla&#8217;s administrators have been suspended, the ABC understands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Those lenders will need to find a new building licence if they wish to take over the sites and pay subcontractors directly, it is understood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Last week the ABC confirmed that a 312-apartment block development in Pemulwuy in Sydney&#8217;s west is going ahead after the lender PAG committed to continue paying contractors directly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">An 82-apartment block in Richmond and an estate in Vineyard in western Sydney are also going ahead, it is understood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">A 68-unit block in Sydney&#8217;s Castle Hill is not part of the rescue, nor is\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A large building bearing the name &quot;The Bathla Group&quot;.\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6a4438ab8375ad97f4c713d2cedebb16.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Administrators have received funding for some projects. (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Administrator Stephen Longley said today that although funding had been secured, they needed more if the group were to be able to keep functioning in two weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;The arrangements agreed today allow us to provide the central support required for construction to continue on projects associated with the lenders participating in the funding package,&#8221; Mr Longley said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;Significant work remains to secure the funding required to progress and ultimately complete all projects currently under construction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;We will continue to work closely with lenders and other key stakeholders to pursue those arrangements.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Embattled developer<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Bathla plunged into administration at the end of August after being unable to pay its $3.4 billion in debts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Teneo managed to <a class=\"Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-09-03\/bathla-group-will-meet-its-payroll-obligations\/107103616\" data-component=\"Link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reach an 11th-hour funding deal last Thursday to meet Bathla&#8217;s payroll obligations that day<\/a>, after revealing that some staff had not been paid for eight weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Administrators estimate supporting construction would cost the business about $1 million to $1.3 million a week, depending on which projects continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Bathla is one of Sydney&#8217;s biggest residential property developers, with a large pipeline of housing projects and land holdings across the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Its administration has left the fate of 200 projects across NSW in jeopardy, with roughly 2,000 homes under construction and another 13,000 in its development pipeline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Administrators had tried tapping existing lenders for extra funds and in late August asked the New South Wales government for <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-08-27\/bathla-collapse-homes-contractors-administrators-frank-sartor\/107079044\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/107079044\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a $20 million lifeline to keep the business afloat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">However, the state government refused to offer any bailout money.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A Bathla Group crane with barbed wire in foreground. \" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b00266600a20bfeccd7dc790e2b1591e.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Bathla Group is on the rocks.\u00a0 (ABC News: John Gunn)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The ABC <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-09-04\/bathla-creditors-meeting-company-owes-billions\/107115408\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/107115408\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">previously reported on Bathla&#8217;s tenuous debt position<\/a> revealed during its first creditors meeting held on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Bathla Group owes known creditors about $3.4 billion, based on preliminary figures, with the vast majority, $3.08 billion, owed to secured lenders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Bathla also owes about $145 million to the Australian Taxation Office, $42 million in land tax and $130 million to other unsecured creditors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">About $4 million is owed to employees for wages and superannuation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Administrators also put the preliminary stated value of Bathla&#8217;s 219 sites at about $4.9 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Loading&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The debt-ridden Bathla Group has reached a short-term funding agreement with five of its lenders which will continue&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-882868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}