Probuild’s Sydney HQ to Go Under the Hammer

Collapsed construction firm Probuild’s administrators have put its NSW headquarters on the block in a bid to recover some of the millions owed to its creditors.

The building at 83-85 McLachlan Avenue, Darlinghurst in Sydney’s CBD, has a nettable lease area of 682sq m with 12 on-site car parking spaces.

Probuild bought the building in 2007 for a little more than $5.3 million.

One of Australia’s largest construction companies, Probuild was well advanced on a national pipeline of projects worth $5 billion and had an annual turnover of more than $2 billion at the time of its collapse in late February.

Administrators were appointed to Probuild after its South African parent company Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon halted the financial support of its beleaguered Australian arm.

The collapse sent ripples through the construction and property industry with many projects delayed or deferred.

The NSW property is just one of Probuild’s offices—its main operations were headquartered in Victoria where it had 10 projects under way at the time of the collapse including SP Setia’s UNO project. 

Its residential arm Monaco Hickey also went into administration with five projects under way at the time.

Sydney-based Roberts Co agreed earlier this month to take over five of Probuild’s Victorian projects worth more than $1.6 billion and to employ 150 former Probuild staff.

The Colliers team of Miron Solomons, Matt Pontey and Matthew Meynell has been appointed to list the site and Deloitte to manage the sales process. 

“You just don’t get a substantial freehold like this in this location, the turnover of  commercial assets in this Rushcutters Bay-Darlinghurst precinct is extremely rare,” Solomons said.

“The last freehold sale on this street was this building in 2007.”  

The property is due to go to auction on May 26.