Hedley Constructions in liquidation
EMBATTLED businessman Tom Hedley has estimated his Hedley Constructions company owes more than $400 million but 148 unsecured creditors are unlikely to see a cent of it.
In a move to protect the 90 employees of the construction arm he has placed the company, which is already in receivership, into liquidation.
The employees are owed an estimated $757,000, inlcuding $400,000 of redundancy payments.
In other developments involving Hedley Constructions:
- Unsecured creditors owed $14.87m are unlikely to receive anything.
- Secured creditors are owed $140m, including the ANZ Bank ($38.6m), Suncorp ($85m), St George ($6.2m) and NAB (5.5m).
- A creditors' meeting is to be held on Thursday, August 13.
The latest development follows Mr Hedley’s nine private companies being placed in receivership on July 1 with debts of $250 million to the ANZ Bank. A second receiver, Ernst and Young, was appointed by Suncorp to redeem a debt believed to be $90 million.
The construction company is the only one placed in liquidation at this stage.
In a summary of affairs of the company submitted to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Mr Hedley has estimated the "deficiency" of Hedley Constructions to be $401,421,694.
It includes $250 million to the ANZ Bank, $140.3 million to secured creditors, $14.8 million to unsecured creditors, $4.7 million in finance and leases (less $3 million in assets), $757,066 to employees, assets of $11.6 million and share capital of $3.35 million.
Liquidator Todd Kelly of Foremans Business Advisors said Mr Hedley had placed the company in liquidation so the 90 staff would be paid their full entitlements.
He said the liquidation did not impact on the receivership nor the receiver KordaMentha’s plan to continue to run the businesses and finish several uncompleted projects.
"Tom’s concern is if the receivers do happen to put people off that the employees will be paid in full," Mr Kelly said.
He urged employees to fill out a Formal Proof of Debt (Employees) as soon as possible to ensure they would receive what they believed they were owed.
Mr Kelly said his staff would help fill out forms at their office at 29 Lake St.
In the documents provided by Mr Hedley, of the $757,066.62 owed to staff (as at July 30, 2009), it included $408,381.88 redundancy pay, which ranged from $23,996.80 to $97.78 each, annual leave of $190,129.15, ranging from $30,267.05 to $50.94, and superannuation payments of $8000.
Mr Kelly said the unsecured creditors were unlikely to be paid.
The unsecured creditors total 148, including 65 in the Far North. Hedley Constructions owes other Hedley companies (Hedley Investments, Hedz, Hedley Developments, Hedz Constructions and HPS) $13.2 million.
The Hedley story
- Hedley fortune down the drain
- Hedley fallout hits racing
- Tradies toast troubled tycoon
- Hedley in receivership
- Hedley quits as director
- Hedley quits as CEO
- Hedley fortune takes $430m hit
- Hedley stops trade
- Hedley trade halt
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