THE builder responsible for the rebuild of Jubilee Park in Frankston has gone under.
News broke last Friday that Lloyd Group, the builder contracted for the Jubilee Park project, had entered voluntary administration.
The Times understands that the $35 million Jubilee Park rebuild is close to completion.
Frankston Council has confirmed that four council projects have been impacted by the builder’s collapse – Jubilee Park Stadium, the Healthy Futures Hub at St Kilda FC’s former Seaford training base, Lloyd Park Senior Pavilion, and Eric Bell Pavilion.
In a statement to The Times, Frankston Council said it is working with appointed administrator Deloitte to assess the status of affected projects. “Council will work with all parties to ensure this process goes as smoothly as possible. Discussions with Deloitte to date have been positive and we expect to receive a progress report next week and are hopeful of a resolution within the next few weeks,” council said.
“This is a disappointing situation for council and all involved. Due diligence checks to assess a company’s financial viability are routinely conducted as part of council’s procurement process prior to engaging a contractor for any major construction project. Lloyd Group were deemed sound for all projects, however in the current increased inflation market conditions, issues such as we are now experiencing are unforeseeable.
“Council officers, CEO Phil Cantillon and mayor Nathan Conroy are reaching out to all sporting and community groups affected by the situation and will keep them updated during this period.”
In February last year, Frankston Council announced that the Jubilee Park rebuild was due to be finished in March 2023, and moved forward $8 million in spending on the project (“Jubilee Park project accelerated” The Times 9/2/22).
The redevelopment was budgeted to cost $35.32 million. Frankston Council committed more than $20.5 million in ratepayer funding to it. The state government allocated $10 million to works, the federal government $4.56 million, and Cricket Victoria/Cricket Australia $200,000.
Deloitte was appointed as Lloyd Group’s voluntary administrators on Friday, 31 March. Sam Marsden from the Deloitte voluntary administration team told the ABC last week “in these early days, we will be undertaking an urgent assessment of the business’s financial position and project-by-project status, and immediately commence communication with project principals and stakeholders.”
“We will also immediately commence an accelerated sale process and hold discussions with parties that might be interested in taking on individual projects,” Marsden said.
Construction work on the Jubilee Park redevelopment began at the end of 2021. The rebuild was slated to include six multipurpose indoor courts with a 1000 seat show court, four indoor cricket training nets, training facilities, community meeting and function rooms, change rooms, a cafe, and a creche.
Lloyd Group was responsible for multiple local school and sports projects, including the redevelopment of the RF Miles Reserve pavilion.