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The liquidators of Porter Davis Homes Group (PDH Group) have achieved the first major breakthrough that will see a portion of home builds and project contracts honoured, courtesy of the sale of the collapsed company's multiple dwelling business to Victorian peer Nostra Property Group (NPG) for an undisclosed sum.
The deal will see Nostra, known for such brands as Homes by Nostra and Banksia Homes, take responsibility for up to 15 per cent of Porter Davis contracts that have been in limbo since Grant Thornton experts were called in as liquidators and the majority of staff were let go at the end of March.
Grant Thornton were appointed to liquidate 14 companies across the group - with Englehart Homes as the exception - comprising 1,500 home builds in Victoria, 200 in Queensland and a further 770 pre-construction contracts with customers.
The multiple dwelling business includes some of the largest developers in Australia and Victoria as its customers, focused mainly on townhouses which are sold off the plan by these developers.
The deal means Nostra will employ 16 Porter Davis staff and will step in to complete 126 townhouses currently in various stages of construction, using the same PDH designs for homes that have been pre-sold to end customers off the plan.
Nostra will also have the option to start building up to 169 townhouses, many of which have also been pre-sold, using the same PDH designs for various developers.
Separately, Nostra will provide building services to around 80 retail customers of Porter Davis whose homes that are yet to start construction, should they accept the offer.
"All parties worked tirelessly to achieve a positive outcome in an extremely short period of time which will see a number of jobs preserved, disruption minimised for several existing and future projects, and critically up to 375 homes built for families who have had to suffer enormous stress and anxiety following the collapse of the PDH Group," says Grant Thornton joint and several liquidator Said Jahani.
Nostra's managing director and founder Anthony Caruana said Porter Davis' multiple dwelling division was a "natural fit" for his business.
"We already work with many of the same developers, and myself, along with the NPG team, are excited about working with the high calibre of people that will be joining us from the Porter Davis team," Caruana said.
“Together, we will work towards not only completing the existing partially built homes in this portfolio but also those projects which are yet to commence.
"This will ensure that we can provide much needed certainty to the families who have purchased a PDH designed townhouse and they can once again look forward to having a new place to call home.”
Since it was founded in 2006, Nostra Property Group has grown to become one of Victoria’s pre-eminent residential home builders, specialising in both townhouse developments as well as freestanding dwellings.
The company has delivered thousands of homes since their inception and is a tier one partner to many of Australia’s leading property companies, delivering joint venture projects in high quality master-planned communities.
In addition to the 16 team members joining from Porter Davis, Nostra Property Group states it will immediately recruit new roles while also providing ongoing work and employment to hundreds of subcontractors and trades people in the construction industry.
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