Stanley and Tallwood building companies placed in liquidation

Kevin Stanley, Stanley Group MD. Photo / NZME

Sub-contractors are understood to be owed millions of dollars after the collapse of North Island building company Stanley Group and related companies.

Three Stanley Group companies were placed in voluntary liquidation yesterday along with Tallwood Holdings and its subsidiaries based in Takapuna, Auckland, and Matamata in the Waikato.

The business, which has about 100 staff, had projects on the go for Housing New Zealand in Mangere, Hamilton and Whakātane.

A creditor told the Herald some sub-contractors hadn't been paid "for months" and the situation came to a head on Wednesday when Housing NZ intervened.

It is understood the government agency had to step in and pay sub contractors, but many are left out of pocket and still chasing payment.

Stanley Group's directors are listed as Kevin Stanley, Robert Marshall and Craig Davison. Calls to the company's head office went unanswered today.

This is not the first time Stanley Group has got into financial trouble.

In 2015 creditors of Stanley Construction (Waikato) were asked to reach an agreement over debts to avoid receivership or liquidation.

"Stanley Construction [Waikato] has operated under significant financial pressure for some time, being reliant on financial support from the Stanley Group and its shareholders and the goodwill of the company's bankers," Jared Booth of McDonald Vague wrote to creditors at the time.

"This situation has resulted from significant losses incurred from a project completed in 2013 and insufficient subsequent work and margins to allow such losses to be cleared."

Aside from its Housing NZ projects, Stanley has also been developing a multi-building apartment site in Hobsonville called The Grounds and Richmond Villas, a three-storey apartment complex in the Thames.

Last year Stanley Modular merged with Tallwood - a building manufacturer with about 30 employees and contractors, an in-house design fabrication team and an installation team.