Updated September 1, 2026 — 3:17pm,first published 10:59am
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The administrator for collapsed major Sydney developer Bathla has declared its financial situation “very dire” and warned the company would start to be wound up late Tuesday afternoon if it does not get the funding it needs in the coming hours.
Teneo’s Stephen Longley, the administrator for Bathla Group, said administrators were running out of hope for a holistic solution to finish the 45 projects under construction, while NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey intervened to call on private lenders to take responsibility for the collapse.
Stephen Longley speaking at a press conference at Bathla’s head office on Monday.Sitthixay Ditthavong
“We’ve had intensive discussions with lenders, but I don’t think we’re going to get enough funding in place to be able to finish those 45 projects. We need to put together a minimum viable structure to deliver the projects,” he told the Today program.
Bathla Group entered voluntary administration last Tuesday, owing debts of more than $3.3 billion. Teneo on Monday morning set a Thursday deadline to find $20 million to repay eight weeks of staff wages and fund near-complete projects. But after a meeting with lenders on Monday night, Teneo brought the deadline forward to Tuesday afternoon.
The company “put out a broadcast” late on Monday to construction lenders and said they would need commitments within 24 hours, Longley said.
“What we need the funding for is the head office cost. There’s 350 staff at head office, most of which are mission-critical to deliver those projects, and all the other costs associated with supporting the project.”
A tower crane was in operation above Bathla’s residential project in Pemulwuy on Tuesday.Oscar Colman
“We’ll start planning at the end of the day for the wind down of the business, and we’ll be meeting with staff,” he said. “Payroll is due on Thursday. As administrators, we’re personally liable for paying that payroll, even if a company doesn’t have any money, which it doesn’t.
Some private capital lenders, who have emerged as a key element in Bathla’s collapse, have taken control of individual worksites and will be responsible for delivering certain projects. For instance, private equity group PAG has been funding Bathla’s major apartment complex in Pemulwuy, 10 kilometres west of Parramatta. Dozens of subcontractors were told in an onsite meeting on Tuesday morning they would be paid by PAG to finish the project.
Mookhey, speaking while on a trade trip in New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, called on the private lenders to step in to support the administrators, saying it was not fair to ask taxpayers to bail out the companies that “took the risk”.
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“The first obligation belongs to the private credit firms,” he said. “These are some of the most sophisticated lenders in the Australian economy. They took the risk. The onus is on them to step up and support the administrators.”
Premier Chris Minns, also on the trip, said he was concerned about the risk of contagion across the construction industry as a result of the collapse but stood by the decision not to bail the company out.
“I am concerned about it. Like most volume builders, they use a range of contractors as part of their building, so we’re keeping an eye on that,” he said.
“[But] they effectively asked for a line of credit from NSW taxpayers, and it’s not my money; it’s NSW taxpayer money. And I wasn’t convinced that that was the best use of taxpayer money, particularly as we didn’t have a detailed or deep understanding as to how Bathla got into these circumstances in the first place, and what the exposure would be for NSW taxpayers if we did tip money in.
“I think the worst-case scenario would have been we extended a line of credit, we gave them tens of millions of dollars, and then the inevitable happened in a couple of weeks’ time.”
One foreman for the Pemulwuy site, who identified himself as Charbel, told reporters outside the meeting he was assured by the administrators that the Pemulwuy apartment block would be completed. But he was less hopeful about the other Bathla sites he was working on.
“They have no idea what is going on there,” he said. “[We’re] still waiting for the administrator. They say they have zero money on the accounts.
“I have four kids, I have staff to pay … I have contractors to pay, and we don’t know. That’s our problem in the industry. No one can guarantee our money. If we do any work, for any business, we’re always losing.”
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Ellie Busby is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Anthony Segaert is the Parramatta bureau chief at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously an urban affairs reporter.Connect via X or email.From our partners