Hastie Group: 35 Jobs Saved Following Sale
Some 35 jobs have been saved from the latest sale of two businesses, along with a number of assets, which belonged to collapsed Australian engineering firm Hastie Group.
PPB Advisory on Monday announced that Airducter Pty Ltd, a Northern Territory-based air-conditioning company, plus the Melbourne branch of catering-equipment firm Norfolk Maintenance Holdings Pty Ltd., have been sold, The Australian reported.
Likewise disposed were the assets of Watters Electrical Pty Ltd, an electrical-services contractor, which has branches in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.
The administrator of the PPB Advisory, however, did not reveal the identities of the buyers, neither the amount raised from the sale.
"We are confident that with new owners in place, these businesses will continue to prosper and grow as they continue to serve their respective markets," Craig Crosbie, PPB Advisory partner, was quoted as saying.
The Hastie Group collapsed in May, with a debt pile of more than $500 million owed from the major banks and another $100 million from thousands of other creditors.
The PPB Advisory was immediately designated voluntary administrator of 44 companies in the Hastie group.
That followed the discovery of a $20-million accounting irregularity.
The PPB Advisory has been able to raise more than $30 million from the sales of commercial plumber Cooke & Carrick, D&E Air Conditioning and M&H Air Conditioning, among others.