Central Coast builder for Woolies and Singo collapses
Stevens Construction undertook numerous projects for Woolworths including this $27m project at Crows Nest on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. Photo:

Central Coast builder for Woolies and Singo collapses

Major Central Coast builder Stevens Construction, which built apartments blocks for Rich Lister John Singleton and supermarkets and malls for Woolworths has collapsed leaving 10 projects in limbo.

The directors of the 18-year-old business – Steve Mailey and Jason Lewis – blamed “unprecedented disruptions” since the onset of the pandemic for “skyrocketing building costs, reduced productivity, and critical shortages of materials and skilled labour”.

Stevens Construction undertook numerous projects for Woolworths including this $27m project at Crows Nest on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.
Stevens Construction undertook numerous projects for Woolworths including this $27m project at Crows Nest on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

“These factors have collectively placed immense pressure on Stevens Construction, making continued operations unsustainable,” the company said in a statement.

The business which employed 40 staff is one of nearly 2500 construction companies that have collapsed so far this financial year, a 34 per cent increase on a year prior, according to the latest ASIC insolvency statistics.

Project delays, rising costs, low profit margins, higher interest rates and labour shortages have all contributed to one of the toughest operating environments in the building sector for decades.

Construction companies that have collapsed this year include Canberra-based fitout and refurbishment business Rork Projects, WA builder Collier Homes, 50-year-old Canberra-based Project Coordination and the building arm of Sydney’s St Hilliers (for the second time).

Originally owned by prominent Central Coast developer Stevens Group, Stevens Construction became a standalone business about 18 years ago following a management buyout. There is no longer a connection between Stevens Group and Stevens Construction.

The Stevens Construction website shows the company undertook a wide range of projects spanning the retail, office, residential, industrial hospitality and aged care sectors. Project budgets ranged from a few million dollars up to $30 million for bigger commercial and residential projects.

  • Related: Alphington paper mill $500m property flip may delay much-needed supermarkets
  • Related: Access the digital version of the May 2024 leasing feature
  • Related: Affordable housing a new asset class picking up speed

Many of its past projects were for Woolworths including the Crows Nest Shopping Centre on Sydney’s Lower North Shore ($27 million budget), Greystanes Shopping Centre in Greater Western Sydney ($15m), a shopping centre in Woolgoolga on the NSW Mid-North Coast and two Dan Murphy’s in Gladesville and West Gosford.

It understood no current Woolworths projects are impacted by collapse of Stevens Construction.

The firm also built two Central Coast apartment towers for Rich Lister John Singleton, a number of facilities for David Di Pilla’s Aurrum Aged Care Group and projects for other Rich Listers including the Gandels and the Roches.

In 2019, Stevens Construction won the Master Builders Association of NSW Commercial Builder of the Year award.

Financial accounts lodged by Stevens Construction (NSW) for the year ending June 30, 2023, show revenue fell 15 per cent to $54.2 million as it swung from a small profit of $467,000 to a loss of $473,000 (the decline in revenue was due to the adoption of a new accounting standards relating to how the revenue from contracts is recognised).

Despite slipping into the red, a dividend of $310,000 was declared.

Stevens Construction’s directors have appointed Jonathon Keenan, Andrew Cummins, and Peter Krejci from restructuring and insolvency group BRI Ferrier as the voluntary administrators.

Stevens Construction completed this 40-unit project in Gosford for John Singleton.
Stevens Construction completed this 40-unit project in Gosford for John Singleton.

Construction on 10 projects underway across NSW has been suspended whilst the administrators investigate the affairs of the company and explore options to either restructure the business or ways to maximise returns to creditors by way of a sale.

Details of the company’s creditors and how much they are owed are not yet known. The 2023 full-year accounts show liabilities of $12.8 million, the majority owed to contractors.

“The administrators will work closely with the Stevens Construction team as we investigate what has occurred and seek to identify options that may be available to clients, employees, subcontractors and suppliers of the company,” said Mr Keenan.

A first creditors report and details of the first creditors’ meeting will be issued in the coming days, the administrators said.

It is not yet clear which projects have been put on hold whilst administrators assess the business.

The latest ASIC insolvency statistics released last week show 2439 construction businesses either entered external administration or appointed a controller between July 1 and May 5. That compares with 1820 failures over the same period a year ago and 987 in 2022.