‘Not in good shape’: more construction industry collapses could follow Probuild

Constructions workers at Probuild’s The Ribbon project on Sydney’s Darling Harbour after the company was placed into administration. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

The collapse of construction giant Probuild could be just the start of financial trouble across the Covid-ravaged industry as it struggles with soaring costs and project delays, the construction sector’s peak body warns.

Probuild, which directly employed about 750 people and had annual revenues of more than $1.4bn, was placed into voluntary liquidation by its South African owners Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) late on Wednesday.