Ab-so-lute S-cum-bags: Tradies Break Silence On The Warning Signs Before Bathla’s $3.6B Crash
A construction giant’s catastrophic collapse has left billions in unpaid bills and unfinished work, but tradies say the warning signs were there for years and the ‘scumbags’ should never have been in business.
On Tuesday, Bathla Group entered into voluntary administration with an estimated $3.6billion in liabilities, leaving thousands of would-be homeowners at risk of losing everything.
In an Instagram post, Bathla Group managing director Bhart Bhushan described the company’s financial troubles as the result of a ‘perfect storm’ of softening sales, tax changes and escalating building costs.
But for dozens of subcontractors who worked with the construction giant, the collapse was anything but a surprise.
Several claim they were repeatedly forced to walk off jobs after invoices went unpaid, with some ultimately deciding they could no longer afford to work for the company.
‘Absolute scumbags. False insurance claims and ridiculous levels of debt,’ one business owner revealed on a social media page for construction industry professionals.
‘I’m sorry for those impacted, but this company is a well-known shonk.’
Another longstanding contractor said they had seen the problems mounting for years.
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In an Instagram post, Bathla Group managing director Bhart Bhushan described the company’s financial troubles as the result of a ‘perfect storm’ of softening sales, tax changes and escalating building costs
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Subcontractors who worked with the construction giant say the collapse was anything but a surprise
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Several tradies claim they were forced to walk off jobs after invoices went unpaid, with some deciding they could no longer afford to work for the company
‘We have been contracted to them for years and it’s been a long time coming,’ the company said.
‘They never pay their contractors on time and now lenders have been paying them directly.’
The contractor said they had regularly been forced to order their crew off worksites and spend ‘hours at their office demanding payments’.
The problems continued right up until the company’s collapse, with the contractor revealing their workers were on site at a Bathla construction job when the announcement went public, leaving them with no warning and forcing them to down tools.
‘We still have outstanding monies but thankfully we have a lot of other work,’ they said.
Another business owner said they had been left in a stressful financial situation after dealing with Bathla and its late payments.
‘This is the same builder who ultimately prompted us to move from operating as a sole trader to a company after engaging us to complete work that another contractor had walked away from,’ they said.
‘In hindsight, we now understand why, we complied with their requirements, completed the work, and eventually found ourselves owed more than $100,000.
‘Fortunately, we did manage to recover every cent that was owed to us, although it was paid very slowly over time.’
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Dozens of tradies shared their experience with the construction giant online
Business owners claim the company had problems paying bills for years
The complaints from tradies went far beyond late payments, with some claiming Bathla’s relentless focus on keeping its developments affordable came at a cost.
Bathla has built its name developing budget-friendly housing estates, townhouses and apartments across Sydney, including the rapidly growing suburbs of Schofields, Marsden Park and Tallawong in the city’s north-west.
But contractors who worked with the company claim keeping prices down came with risks.
‘They were always asking to sacrifice safety and quality to reduce price,’ claimed one owner.
‘They are absolutely awful, I’m not surprised at all and have no sympathy for them and all the sympathy for those affected by these scammers.’
Mr Bhushan founded the business in 1997 after originally starting out as a taxi driver.
The company’s main entity Universal Property Group owes almost $3.2billion, while another entity, Raj & Jai Construction, had $304million in liabilities at the end of the 2024–25 financial year.
Administrators from Teneo have been appointed to undertake an ‘immediate assessment’ of the company’s finances in an effort to stabilise operations. Urgent discussions are now taking place with lenders, and 500 jobs are now at risk.
Just last week, the company was promoting the ‘advanced’ progress of one of its major construction projects – a 339-apartment development in Rouse Hill
