The Cairns Post - Staff buy out bid for CEC unlikely to succeed

19 May 2011

The Cairns Post

Staff buy out bid for CEC unlikely to succeed

A STAFF buy out of CEC Constructions was doubtful, a creditors meeting in Cairns was told yesterday.

“It’s highly unlikely,” administrator Terry van der Velde of SV Partners told the meeting of 60 people.

He said now that the CEC Group, including CEC Constructions, was in receivership it was probably too late. But company founder and chief executive officer Roy Lavis said the buy out plan, involving a Federal Government program, was still a possibility and held talks with employees after the administrators’ meeting.

Mr van der Velde said there would be an investigation into  whether the company had been trading insolvently and whether there would be any criminal and/or civil charges against the directors.

The only person to ask questions at the meeting, Sandra Carmichael, (pictured) of Townsville-based North Coast Kerbing, asked Mr Lavis whether the staff buy out proposal would include company debts.

He said there would be an arrangement with creditors if the buy out was successful.

Mrs Carmichael said their family-run business had been operating for four years and seven companies they had done business with had collapsed.

She said her firm was owed at least $200,000 by various companies, including $95,000 by CEC.

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