A Gold Coast construction company has hit the wall amid questions over whether it held a proper licence to build.
Qld Cedar Constructions, which has been operating in the Gold Coast since 2017 and specilaised in both commercial and domestic building projects, went into voluntary administration on April 28.
It is the latest in a long list of construction firms that have collapsed as the industry struggles against soaring prices for materials, rising inflation and labour costs.
QLD Cedar Constructions went into voluntary administration on April 28
QLD Cedar, which specialised in both commercial and domestic building projects is, is the latest in a string of construction companies to enter insolvency over the past year as the construction industry battles dire conditions
The company’s director, Sung Hoon Lee, was banned from the industry for three years from 2015 after one of his previous companies, S & S Tiles, went into liquidation, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.
Qld Cedar had held a building licence in the past, however it was suspended in January 2020 for having no nominee and cancelled three months after that.
Daily Mail Australia has approached QLD Cedar Constructions for comment.
William Cotter of Robson Cotter Insolvency Group has been appointed as liquidator.
Mr Cotter said it was too early to say why the company had failed.
It comes as a deluge of Australian building firms have gone under in recent months.
Last week, Melbourne-based construction company Mahercorp told its customers it will enter voluntary administration.
Up to 730 homes will be affected, however all of the properties are believed to be insured.
Director and CEO Steve Maher said the company was entering voluntary administration as it was the ‘only option’ after learning a major insurer would no longer support the business.
‘I want to emphasise that Mahercorp has not collapsed and is not in liquidation,’ he said in a statement emailed to customers this week.
Mr Maher said he wanted to work with an administrator to put the business on a ‘more sustainable footing’ to allow it to complete the homes it had started.
‘It’s no secret that all builders are facing unprecedented challenges right now. ‘ he added.
‘Building costs are skyrocketing — materials and labour costs are at record levels and rising inflation is putting huge pressure on builders.’
Last week, Australia’s biggest brick manufacturer closed a key plant, citing poor sales.
Masonry giant Brickworks confirmed in a statement on Thursday that it would be ‘mothballing’ its Cardup plant, the company’s last factory in Western Australia.
A deluge of construction firms have gone under in recent months as companies struggle against rising costs and scarcity of materials
Brickworks said its WA arm, Austral, has been reporting losses in recent years with sales falling due to a ‘slowdown in building activity’.
Construction firms are still reeling from the impacts of the Covid pandemic and the global lack of timber and building materials due to choked supply chains impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
This has led to the cost of materials rising by more than 20 per cent since the start of 2022, with some items surging by even more.
Pine more than doubled in price, while reinforcing steel, glass, plasterboard, fibre cement and other materials also rose.
Such price rises meant many fixed contract building projects were no longer viable.
Across Australia, hundreds of millions of dollars are owed by failed companies to subcontractors, tradesmen, clients and the tax office.
Some of the biggest names in Australian construction have become insolvent over the past year, including Probuild, Home Innovation Builders, Privium, Condev Construction and Pivotal Homes.