Introduction
The construction sector in New South Wales continues to face acute financial pressure from rising material costs, delayed progress payments and tax liabilities. For a few operators, that pressure has rippled into crippling creditor exposure and the real prospect of liquidation.
Yet a growing cohort of construction businesses is finding a different outcome. Through timely engagement with restructuring specialists and the Small Business Restructuring process, several firms have converted total creditor claims of $6.3 million into agreed SBR payments of $3.1 million. Those arrangements have protected jobs, preserved contracts and allowed projects to finish.
This article outlines around 7 outcomes from those SBR success for construction interventions and presents a short case example based on the Concrete Contractors proposal, as recorded in the restructuring materials.
“Success in restructuring is not judged by how much debt is removed. It is judged by how many businesses survive, how many people remain employed, and how many owners get a fair opportunity to rebuild.” – John Morgan, Director.
Aggregate Impact: Real SBR success for construction in NSW
Taken together, the SBR success for construction exercises coordinated by the advisory firm resulted in a meaningful industry-level outcome. Across the cohort of construction businesses assisted:
- Total creditor claims amounted to $6.3 million.
- Creditors agreed to total SBR payments of $3.1 million.
- All plans were prepared to balance realistic recovery for creditors with operational continuity for the businesses.
Those aggregate figures demonstrate a clear principle: while creditors do not recover the full nominal amount, structured plans often deliver materially better returns than liquidation and, importantly, allow the business to keep trading.
Practical outcome: Avoiding liquidation while preserving projects
In the construction industry, unfinished projects create cascading harms. When a builder is wound up, subcontractors and suppliers can be left unpaid and projects can stall. The SBR success for construction approach enables companies to continue trading while proposing realistic, time-bound contributions to creditors.
For the businesses in the NSW cohort, accepted plans meant projects in local council areas could continue, suppliers remained in the payment loop, and homeowners and developers received the work they had contracted for. In short, the plans preserved continuity in a sector where interruption can be costly for many stakeholders.
Jobs preserved and apprenticeships stabilised
A direct and measurable benefit from the Small Business Restructure success for construction outcomes was workforce stability. Several construction businesses were able to retain skilled employees and apprentices through the restructure period. Maintaining that capability is vital to the industry because training pipelines and on-site expertise are expensive and time-consuming to replace.
The practical effect is twofold. Employees keep their incomes and skills, and businesses maintain the operational capacity to meet obligations, which in turn supports repayments to creditors under the SBR plan.
Improved returns for creditors compared with liquidation
Liquidation is often a poor payout scenario for unsecured creditors. By contrast, the SBR success for construction proposals in these cases offered creditors predictable, administratively simpler outcomes. In many instances, the anticipated return under a plan was substantially higher than the hypothetical return from a formal insolvency process.
That commercial logic explains why creditors, including the Australian Taxation Office in some cases, agreed to accept contributions rather than force the company into a formal winding up.
For creditors focused on recovery, a structured plan that delivers real cash over time is preferable to a lengthy, uncertain liquidation that can produce little or nothing.
Transparent assessment and workable plans
Every accepted plan in this cohort followed a consistent process: a full review of trading, accurate schedule of debts, realistic cash flow forecasting and clear plan mechanics. Transparency and verifiable projections were central to securing creditor confidence.
The example (see the case example below) demonstrates this approach in practice: thorough documentation, a workable contribution and a credible pathway to better trading outcomes under the plan terms.
Lower administration costs and quicker outcomes
Compared with external administration or liquidation, SBR plans typically carry lower administration costs. Lower costs mean a larger percentage of available funds is distributed to creditors, improving net returns.
Furthermore, plans are designed to be implemented quickly. That speed preserves the business’s customers and supplier relationships, which is especially important in construction where reputational continuity underpins future work.
Rebuilding capacity and long-term viability
A successful SBR outcome is not just about debt numbers. It is an opportunity to rebuild margins, reset supplier terms, strengthen cash controls and make the business more resilient to future shocks. The businesses that progressed through the SBR success for construction process in NSW used the breathing space to implement practical governance changes that support ongoing profitability.
When a firm shows genuine engagement, realistic forecasting and a commitment to reform operations, creditors and the ATO are prepared to work with them. That collaboration produces better outcomes for everyone.
Case example: Concrete Contractors
Concrete Contractors, a Mount Ousley-based concreting specialist, illustrates how the SBR process works on the ground.
Key facts from the practitioner’s proposal:
- Appointment of restructuring practitioner: 5 March 2025.
- Total admissible creditor claims disclosed in the plan: approximately $416,265.
- Plan contribution proposed: $160,000.
- Estimated return to ordinary unsecured creditors under the plan: 33.6 cents in the dollar.
- Significant practical steps: employee entitlements were brought up to date, financial records were reconciled, and the company provided a credible forward trading projection.
Why the plan was persuasive
- The plan offered a demonstrable, immediate contribution funded from a combination of future trading and director support.
- The plan’s administration costs were estimated at 12.5 per cent of plan contributions, materially lower than the costs expected in a liquidation.
- The restructuring practitioner concluded the plan offered a higher and more reliable return to creditors than a hypothetical liquidation.
Director and worker outcomes
- The company continued trading under practitioner oversight.
- Employee entitlements and some statutory obligations were addressed during the proposal period.
- The practitioner recommended the plan to creditors as delivering a preferable commercial outcome to liquidation.
This example is one of many within the broader cohort that, when aggregated, contribute to the $6.3 million creditor exposure and $3.1 million SBR payment totals reported for the NSW construction group.
Final thoughts
The SBR successes achieved across these construction businesses in NSW demonstrate that carefully crafted restructuring delivers practical outcomes. Businesses preserved contracts and staff, creditors received recoveries that would not have materialised in liquidation, and local projects were completed.
If a business is facing sustained payment delays, ATO pressure or a rapidly deteriorating cash position, the lesson is clear: early engagement with experienced restructuring advisers can open a pathway to a considered plan and a real chance at recovery.