Porter Davis, a major Australian building company known for its house and land packages, has gone into liquidation.
Insolvency firm Grant Thornton has been appointed to 14 companies under the Melbourne-based group, it was announced on Friday morning.
“The liquidators will not be trading the PDH Group companies and works on current builds will cease immediately,” Grant Thornton said in a statement.
Porter Davis is known for its house and land packages.
“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.”
The company had been forecasting revenue of $555 million this financial year, according to the liquidators.
Grant Thornton’s statement went on to detail how tough market conditions hampered Porter Davis’ efforts to stay afloat.
“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,” the statement read.
“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.”
More than 1500 properties were under construction by the company in Victoria along with a further 200 in Queensland.
A further 779 customers are believed to have signed contracts with Porter Davis, with these builds yet to begin.
More than 470 staff are employed by the company.
Porter Davis’ luxury offshoot Englehart will continue to operate.