The redevelopment of the Belconnen Markets has been shut down after the announcement of an impending collapse of national building company, PBS Building.

The Belconnen Markets is just one of the many development projects halted by the news, and workers across the country have been left reeling since the announcement yesterday, Monday 6 March.

The board of directors of PBS made the decision to put the NSW, ACT, and Queensland construction businesses into voluntary administration and appointed RSM Australia partners, Jonathon Colbran, Richard Stone and Mitchell Herrett, administrators.

Currently, the PBS Building website ceases to exist and has been replaced with the following statement regarding the new appointment:

“You are advised that Jonathon Colbran, Richard Stone & Mitchell Herrett from RSM Australia Partners were appointed as Joint and Several Administrators of the following companies on 7 March 2023, pursuant to Section 436A of the Corporations Act 2001.”

In a joint statement, company founder Ian Carter and the board of directors stated it has been a “gut-wrenching decision that we know will impact many lives and livelihoods. However, after months of intense efforts behind the scenes, in the end it was the only responsible course of action available”.

The statement insisted the construction sites have been ‘secured’, not ‘abandoned’, with the “express purpose of not incurring any further expenses”.

The statement blamed an “unprecedented combination of record material costs, fixed price contracts, labour and material shortages, extreme rain events, floods, bush fires and wars” for going into voluntary administration.

Over 180 staff were informed on Monday 6 March that the business was no longer viable and “they were understandably very emotional meetings”.

According to the statement, “As of 6 March 2023, all employee entitlements have been fully paid out”.

Master Builders ACT (MBA) released a statement today responding to the appointment of voluntary administrators, which said: “This will have a devastating impact on employees, subcontractors, and suppliers in our local building and construction industry.

“MBA will be assisting our members, especially our subcontractors and suppliers, who will be deeply impacted by this announcement.”

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