The Cairns Post - CEC Group on the market

19 May 2011

The Cairns Post

CEC Group on the market

THE failed CEC Group is for sale. Receivers and managers McGrathNicol have placed the group as well as four separate businesses on the market.

They are calling for expressions of interest for the business and assets of the group and CEC Constructions, Machinery and Truck Maintenance, CEC Bitumen Services and CEC Mt Isa.

They describe the public company as a construction and property development group based in North Queensland which had been operating for over 30 years.

“In addition to property development, the group, through its subsidiaries, supplies building and construction materials, civil engineering, building construction as well as truck and machinery maintenance,” they said.

“Immediate expressions of interest are invited for this unique opportunity.”

CEC collapsed a week ago after accumulating debts of $135 million and recording a $70 million loss for the half year to December 31, 2010.

A financial statement lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange revealed CEC total assets amounted to $93.5 million, which included a land bank of $60.4 million and property, plant and equipment of $16.4 million. But after total debts of $135 million the group had negative net equity of $41.3 million.

In further moves at a meeting of CEC Constructions creditors yesterday Terry van der Velde of SV Partners told 60 people that unsecured creditors owed at least $2.4 million were unlikely to receive a cent.

He said the Commonwealth Bank, which had called in receivers and was owed up to $75 million, would probably get everything.

Mr van der Velde said the 51 employees would be paid their entitlements, except superannuation, through the Federal Government’s General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS). Employees would be paid up to a maximum of about $117,000 each by GEERS.

The staff are owed $886,000 in superannuation, $244,000 in annual leave and $466,000 in long service.

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