Walter Construction Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter Construction Group Limited, known for most of its life as Concrete Constructions Pty Ltd,[1][2] was one of Australia's oldest and fifth largest construction company[3] prior to its 2005 collapse. The company was founded on 21 April 1920 by Allen Lewis.[4][5] It remained independent until 1999, when the company was bought by the German Walter Bau and rebranded as Walter Construction Group.[6]
 | |
| Formerly | Concrete Constructions |
|---|---|
| Company type | Privately held company |
| Industry | Construction |
| Founded | 21 April 1920 |
| Founder | Allen Lewis |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Revenue | $500 million (2005) |
Number of employees | 1,000 (2005) |
| Parent | Walter Bau |
| Website | www.walter.net.au |
Collapse
Before its collapse, Walter Construction had two divisions: "Construction and Civil", and "Mining".[7] While the mining division was profitable and expanding, the construction division had been losing money since 2000. By the company's collapse, 18 of its 21 contracts were cashflow negative.[3] During this period the company heavily relied on its parent company for financial support,[8] however Walter Bau was also experiencing financial difficulties and both companies were placed into liquidation on 3 February 2005.[9][10] KordaMentha was appointed the administrator,[11] and proceeded to liquidate the remaining assets of the company by 2018.[12][13][14] During their investigation, it was also revealed that Walter Construction had traded while insolvent.[15][16]
Prior to the collapse, John Holland Group had a bid to acquire Walter Construction, however the deal fell through in 2002.[17]