Bathla Group could be forced into liquidation by Thursday unless administrators secure millions of dollars to pay staff and suppliers, threatening one of Australia’s biggest property collapses.
Teneo, appointed to oversee the western Sydney developer last Tuesday, told employees at a meeting in Girraween on Monday that it was urgently seeking funds before the next pay cycle. Administrator Stephen Longley said no finance had yet been secured.
“We do not have enough money to pay their wages on Thursday,” Mr Longley told reporters afterwards. “So unless that situation can be resolved, we won’t have the option other than to close the business.”
About 350 employees have reportedly gone without pay for eight weeks, leaving Bathla facing unpaid wages and superannuation obligations worth more than $2.5 million. Some migrant workers are also experiencing additional uncertainty because losing their jobs could affect their Australian visas.
Teneo is seeking about $20 million to keep the business operating for the next month while it assesses whether Bathla can be stabilised over a longer period. The administrators have already borrowed $1 million from Teneo’s head office to cover basic costs including vehicle registrations, fuel and keeping the company’s offices running.
Bathla Group liquidation warning
The New South Wales government has declined to provide a direct financial rescue. Premier Chris Minns said on Saturday that he hoped another financier or developer would step forward, but no alternative developer had publicly committed to a bailout.
Mr Longley said administrators had received a positive response from Bathla’s roughly 43 private capital lenders, but warned that the entire group needed to be supported rather than individual developments being rescued in isolation.
“We can’t just fix one site. We’ve got to fix the whole of the head office so that all of the sites can get up and running,” he said.
Bathla’s main corporate entity, Universal Property Group, reported liabilities of about $3.2 billion as at June last year. Teneo’s appointment covers more than 500 related companies, while the group has about 220 projects and roughly 2,000 homes under construction or development.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales has heard that 349 employees are attached to the group, with a fortnightly payroll of about $3.3 million. A formal creditors’ meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 4.
Bathla’s financial problems have been linked by the company to weaker property sales, changes arising from the federal budget and sharply higher construction costs. Teneo has said it wants to preserve construction activity and property settlements where possible, but the immediate priority is finding enough cash to prevent the business closing at the end of the week. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/bathla-group-facing-closure-thursday-without-cash-injection/107097158?utm_source=openai))
