A major construction, design and refurbishment company with almost 200 employees and hundreds of projects has collapsed this week.
National Projects & Maintenance (NPM Group) was a commercial fit-out company that worked on developments for some of the country’s biggest names in property, including Goodman, Mirvac, GPT, Charter Hall and Brookfield.
On Monday, the Sydney-based company announced they were going into administration and ceased trading immediately.
According to their website, the NPM Group worked with 776 clients to complete more than 45,000 projects across six states and territories.
Before the organisation announced going into administration, all 100 full-time employees were let go.
The group’s demise also spells the collapse of 10 companies under the organisation’s umbrella, all of which are now under external administration.
One of the administrators, Graeme Beattie, said they are conscious of the impact of this appointment on everyone involved.
“The administration process is in its infancy and we are working hard to immediately establish the group’s financial position, including identifying assets available for realisation and quantifying creditors’ claims with the assistance of the director and the senior staff of the NPM Group,” he said.
NPM’s most recent projects included a number of offices and residential suites at Melbourne’s Southbank Boulevard, offices in Sydney CBD and several school refurbishments in Queensland.
The company’s director, Daniel Afonso, said that the nation’s economic pressure had made it impossible to keep operating.
“The ongoing market pressures have made NPM’s continued operation untenable, due to skilled labour shortages, inflationary pressures, interest rate rises and a commercial sector that continues to suffer from flow on effects of Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.
Housing inflation is hurting business
After the latest CPI figures revealed annual inflation had hit a five-month peak of 5.6 per cent earlier his week, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said housing costs remain a significant source of pressure for the construction industry.
“Housing costs have a major impact on wages and costs right across our economy,” said Ms Wawn.
“The cost of building homes continues to be inflated through unnecessary delays and barriers, including planning impediments, lengthy approvals processes and high developer charges.
“Taking decisive action to speed up the delivery of the new homes we need will help us win the battle against inflation more quickly.”
According to Ms Wawn, it’s up to the state and territory governments to deliver on their commitments to planning reform.
“For many builders and developers, initiating large-scale home building projects in the current environment is simply too risky,” she said.
“Despite all the work at a Federal level to pass housing legislation and invest in skills, the Government risks magnifying costs and regulatory obstacles with its far-reaching ‘Closing Loopholes’ Bill.
“The IR Bill means businesses will have even more of their time absorbed by compliance and red tape issues – instead of being out there building new homes.”
