Australia extends Bathla administration until 2027 — ABC News Australia
The Supreme Court of New South Wales in Australia has extended the period of voluntary administration of Bathla Group until September 13, 2027. The decision gives administrators from Teneo additional time to analyse hundreds of real estate projects, the group’s financial documentation and creditors’ claims, ABC News Australia reports.
At the same time, the extension does not mean that Bathla’s administration procedure or construction work will be funded for another 12 months. It gives Teneo more time before the administrators are required to convene the second meeting of creditors, at which they will decide the future of the group’s companies.
Funding has not yet been secured
Teneo has received $4.7 million in initial funding and continues negotiations with lender creditors over long-term support for active construction projects and shared costs of Bathla’s operations. Six lenders are currently providing the initial funding; other financiers may potentially join the arrangement.
Teneo Financial Advisory leader Stephen Longley said that completing the projects depends on securing further lender support to maintain Bathla’s critical central functions. According to him, negotiations on such funding are ongoing.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The total currently known consolidated creditor claims amount to about $3.4 billion. Of this, secured creditors have claimed approximately $3.08 billion, while $145 million relates to debt owed to the Australian Taxation Office. There are also approximately $48 million in claims by private lenders and $110 million in other unsecured claims; the figures are still being reconciled.
Review of financial records
According to ABC News Australia, Teneo’s review found that the group’s bank accounts had not been reconciled for some time. The records may also contain intragroup receivables and payables overstated by approximately $736 million, which require further reconciliation.
Key planning, design and construction data are held across different systems, employees’ email inboxes, network drives and paper documents rather than in a single repository. Their analysis may take many months.
The preliminary assessment covers about 219 active projects with debt of approximately $3.13 billion and an estimated total value of $4.87 billion. Completed real estate worth about $400 million is listed for sale or under contract. A preliminary 167 undeveloped sites have also been identified: about 30% are planned to be sold in their current state, while the strategy for the remainder has yet to be determined.
