- EY has been appointed as liquidators for the six Jaxon entities
- Work had recently stopped on a UWA project due to failure to pay subcontractors
- Company was previously fined for unauthorized fire safety work at a Perth hotel
Jaxon Group, a South Perth-based construction company, has gone into liquidation.
Founded in 1958, Jaxon currently has four commercial projects in progress, according to liquidators Ernst & Young (EY).
The news comes two weeks after all construction work stopped at Jaxon’s Forrest Hall short-stay accommodation project at the University of Western Australia, due to delays in paying subcontractors.
There are six Jaxon entities under the Jaxon Group impacted by the announcement:
- Jaxon Construction Pty Ltd
- Jaxon Koombana Pty Ltd
- Jaxon Management Pty Ltd
- Jaxon Group Holdings Pty Ltd
- Skyline Realty (WA) Pty Ltd
- Doric Jaxon Corporate Pty Ltd
In a statement, EY said Sam Freeman, Vincent Smith and Justin Walsh were appointed as joint and several liquidators of the entities today. Mr Freeman and Mr Smith were also administrators for fellow WA construction company Pindan, which went under in May.
“The operations of the Group have ceased upon our appointment. We are urgently assessing the financial position of the Group and will shortly commence our investigations into the affairs of the Group,” said an EY spokesperson.
“We acknowledge our appointment as liquidators may place many employees, individuals, clients, suppliers and subcontractors of Jaxon Group companies in difficult positions and will endeavour to provide further updates as soon as practically possible.”
EY spokesperson
Last year, the Building Services Board fined Jaxon after carrying out unauthorised building works that deviated from approved plans for a Perth hotel development.
This included the removal of stair pressurisation with a different fire safety measure that had not been previously approved. A zone smoke control system was also missing – an important measure that uses pressure changes to manage smoke at the site of a fire.
“Failure to build in accordance with approved plans is a serious matter because of the significant risks to community safety and confidence,” said Building and Energy Executive Director Saj Abdoolakhan at the time.
“Retrospective approval does not circumvent the need for a building permit, especially for the significant redesign of fire safety systems in a multi-storey building.”
