A company behind a big construction firm that was ordered to pay millions for building a leaking high school has gone into receivership.
H construction North Island was last week ordered to pay $13.4m for construction errors at the leaky, damp and rotting Botany Downs Secondary College. Photo: Google Maps / Screenshot
Hawkins built the Botany Downs Secondary College in Auckland.
A related company, H Construction North Island - formerly called Hawkins Construction North Island - was last week ordered by the High Court to pay $13.4 million for a raft of construction errors at the leaky, damp, and rotting college.
Orange H Group - H Construction's shareholder - has now been put in receivership.
It will now be up to receiver McGrath Nicol to decide what happens to the millions of dollars the Ministry of Education is owed.
Hawkins also built the four worst leaking buildings at Middlemore Hospital less than 20 years ago.
H Construction has gone into receivership owing a total of $30m.
Orange H director David McConnell said they decided some time ago to exit the construction industry "principally because of the dramatic rise in the risk profile" borne by contractors.
This same rise in risks was cited by Fletcher when its building unit announced it was closing up gradually after suffering $1 billion of losses.
Mr McConnell said Orange H took the decision reluctantly to go into receivership.
"The process to secure final payments from the various customers has been complex and has taken a lot longer than anticipated and created a cash flow timing issue," he said.
"We were also concerned that a number of parties were commencing legal action and we were mindful of our responsibility to exercise our fiduciary duties."
There was "significant value" in Orange H with all but two of the legacy projects now completed and only minor work still outstanding on one of these, Mr McConnell said.
"The board's focus is now to leave the company in the best possible position for the receivers to achieve substantial recoveries."
The board of trustees at Botany Downs Secondary College said it had not yet heard about the company going into liquidiation.
The school was disappointed, but not entirely surprised to hear the news, chair Murray Goodman said.
The board would wait for more instructions from the Ministry of Education on the matter.
In March 2017, Downer purchased the Hawkins brand, some projects, assets and employees, and called it Hawkins 2017 Limited.
Previous projects and a number of ongoing projects done by Hawkins or related companies - such as the Botany Downs school and Middlemore Hospital buildings - were retained by Orange H Group, part of McConnell Limited. Orange H is distinct from Hawkins.