10 October 2024

Canberra builder goes bust owing $4 million

| Ian Bushnell
Join the conversation
74

Imagine Building Concepts director Tim Staines has more than two decades’ experience in the building industry. Photo: Facebook.

Canberra builder Imagine Building Concepts has gone into voluntary administration owing $4 million to more than 100 creditors.

RSM Australia’s Jonathon Colbran and Adam Cormack have been appointed administrators.

The company, owned by husband and wife team Tim and Sarah Staines, has been trading in Canberra since 2010, having previously gone under the name T & S Building Company Pty Ltd.

There was no hint that the company was in trouble, with its website and Facebook page active and only last month it was a finalist in the 2024 Master Builders ACT Awards.

The company ceased trading on Wednesday (9 October) when administrators were appointed. The administration also covers a related labour services company, Imagine Management Pty Ltd.

READ ALSO Town centre shops part of Labor plans to boost build-to-rent projects

Mr Cormack from RSM said the companies had one active project and about 10 employees.

“Our initial review of the financial statements and records has identified more than 100 creditors who are owed in excess of $4 million,” he said.

“These are only preliminary figures and may change as we undertake more detailed investigations over the coming weeks.”

RSM will write to creditors this week to advise them that the first creditor meeting will be held on or before 21 October.

Creditors affected by the administration of the companies should contact RSM via email at Imagine_Creditors@rsm.com.au.

According to the company website, Imagine Building Concepts’ work ranged from commercial, townhouse and multiunit development to custom-built homes and affordable housing projects for the ACT Government.

Its current work includes the Moment townhouses in Whitlam, which are due to be completed in January 2025.

A home in Wisdom Place, Hughes, was expected to be completed last month, and another townhouse project, Acacia in Whitlam, was due to be finished in July.

Before that, Imagine Building Concepts completed a home in Finnis Crescent, Narrabundah, in February and the Atlas townhouses in Wright in March 2023.

READ ALSO Aspirational design blends into a remarkable setting

In 2022, it won the ‘Apartments or residential up to 3 storeys’ category at the Master Builders ACT Awards for the project Tempus in Turner.

Last month, the company lined up for Master Builders ACT Awards again, this time in the Custom Built Home category with its Finnis Crescent project.

Imagine Building Concepts joins a number of Canberra-based builders that have gone bust in recent times.

These include two of the ACT’s most prominent firms, PBS Building in 2023 and Project Coordination this year, both of which have been wound up.

Rork Projects, Cubitt’s Granny Flats and Home Extensions and Voyager Projects also went under this year.

Join the conversation

74
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Very sad for all concerned, but I don’t understand how this is the Government’s fault. Sounds like a failure of the market to me: cost of materials has gone up 50% yet we still insist on building big, at the same time as there is a cost of living crisis?

And yet again the poor subbie lose out but no big deal to the builder

To all you snivellers shedding tears over this latest Canberra business going bust, spare a thought for their creditors, those small family businesses and contractors who were employed by them. The sparkies, brickies, carpenters, plumbers, concreters, scaffolders and the many others who are owed money but are unlikely to ever be repaid.

Another Canberra business in the serial offending construction industry has gone bankrupt because of their dishonest and shoddy business practices. Banks not doing their due diligence with their sloppy lending practices allowing businesses to borrow more than they can afford and to trade while insolvent. With debts of many millions of dollars which are unlikely to ever be repaid and blaming the government for their own shortcomings. We have seen it all before!

It was earlier this year that the building industry was complaining about the Security of Payment Act amongst others and demanding an urgent meeting with Andrew Barr. The SOP provides a debt-recovery process for any person, company or subcontractor who is employed in the construction sector who has undertaken work or provided their services under a contract, ensuring they are paid on time and when payments become due. Each state and territory have their own SOP’s to protect workers.

Unfortunately SOP’s just go part way in combatting these corrupt activities with businesses shifting monies and assets around to spouses and others who are their partners in these fraudulent activities!

I’m not sure about blaming the banks, but I agree, the subbies are the ones that lose here. No doubt old mate will turn up again as a Building company owner free of debt and have another go. The subbies have no hope of getting their money. I can’t believe they happily work for someone then wait weeks often months for payments. The system is broken. The directors of these companies should have all their assets including Super seized to

Having been on the receiving end of a shoddily built, 12-month-late townhouse by Mr. Staines and his crew, I have no sympathy for Imagine’s woes. Having witnessed this company’s consistent and frequent dealings with proven and reputable dodgy developers like Jamie Farrelly and his multiple Phoenix businesses, it won’t be the last we see from Mr. Staines. I feel for the workers/subbies but that’s it. Good riddance.

Sorry to hear that Uncle. We have had problems with our build that were the result of short cuts and shoddy workmanship and of course, the company has long since gone bust but I would not be surprised if the principles are still in the industry.

Despite the opportunistic nature of much of the commentary here, not everything is the government’s fault. This is why when many people get a good builder or tradie they look after them because the good ones are all too rare.

Totally Seano, not blaming the Govt. at all on this one. This guy and by the looks at how their employee’s were “informed”, justifies my comments and that operators like this need to be eradicated form all elements of the building industry.

“Last month, the company lined up for Master Builders ACT Awards again, this time in the Custom Built Home category with its Finnis Crescent project.”
Forty years ago, my employment was as an Accreditation Surveyor in our Australian health industries. When such experts are allowed credibility in other Australian industries, poor management performance will be easily detected and corrected.
The warning signs around Canberra Hospital are one such good example.

Sorry to hear this, trying to operate a small construction business in the ACT is tough, has probably never been harder. Zero support from Labor who know we need more builders not less. Labor have not done a single thing to engage small builders in this tough environment, they only seem to care about their buddies at GeoCon.
The photo used in this article is probably unfair as well, clearly taken out of context, the Riotact can do better than this.

So you’re saying the territory government should be propping up building companies. An industry rife with dodgy operators and failed businesses Cool, cool, cool.

So which policies will the Liberal party adopt to prop up these building companies and how much are my rates going up?

PS. If you read the credit, the picture came from Facebook, so I’d suggest it wasn’t the Riotact that initially decided it was fit to publish (not that there’s anything wrong with it anyway).

PPS. The loosely hinged partisanship of some of the commentary on this site makes me wonder how some people function in the real world.

@Seano
” … loosely hinged partisanship of some of the commentary on this site …”
I agree – how do you function in the real world, Seano?

What are you like 5 mate?

If that’s your best comeback to me pointing out the irrationality of blaming the government for everything and a bizarre rant about a fairly innocuous Facebook pic then it would be hard to conclude otherwise.

I don’t know how Barr or Labor are to blame. An example of how a builder can lose $300,000 in one home is in a new build a few doors down from where I live.
The builder guaranteed he could build this family’s home for a set amount. By the time it was finished it had cost the builder $300,000 more than he had guaranteed 18 months earlier. I understand some of the fault were in the choices the builder made himself, some were issues of supply and of course inflation. For example he had difficulty finding the bricks requested so he purchased inferior ones which the home owners objected to. The builder had to pay his bricklayers to lay them twice and pay for double the number of bricks.
Multiply this builder’s losses over a few houses and he’s a million dollars in debt. It’s a risky time for sure.

Sounds like a builder who shouldn’t be in business! A very poor business man.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.