Victoria’s largest privately owned plumbing contractor has announced it is entering voluntary administration. Richstone Group has been running for 20 years, however recent events have devastated the company.

“We know how hard all Australians are doing it right now and we are also aware of the possible ripple effect an event like this can have on our industry. We have been undergoing a restructure so that we can continue to support our staff, customers and suppliers,” Richstone’s Director Shannon Egglestone said.

The voluntary administrators, David Coyne and Peter Krejci of BRI Ferrier convened a first meeting of creditors on 15 March.  The meeting follows a company restructure which the Victorian Supreme Court confirmed on Friday was in the best interests of the creditors as a whole.

“Our business which had a general annual turnover of $45 million for the past 5 years started to suffer because of circumstances beyond our control. Three major factors have contributed to the situation we are in today. Material costs against fixed priced contracts, construction industry inefficiencies due to the worldwide pandemic and cuts to credit lines,” Shannon added.

“The restructure has saved every job of the 160 employees employed by the Richstone Group.  Richstone can continue to support the many builders and projects that it currently holds contracts with.  In an economic environment where other tier one plumbers have been unable to survive, Richstone is hopeful that the restructure will allow the industry to progress and avoid the unnecessary loss of jobs and increased to project completion costs,” Shannon added.