New South Wales Premier Chris Minns could ask rival developers to step in and finish builds on thousands of homes and apartments following the collapse of a Sydney property giant.
Buyers have been left reeling after the Bathla Group was placed into administration this week, with debts of $3.6 billion.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sydney homeowners in limbo as Bathla Group collapses
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The property titan, which specialises in greenfield housing estates and apartment complexes, has 2000 dwellings on the go.
It has deep tentacles through Sydney’s key growth corridor in the city’s northwest but is also active in the Hunter Valley and Illawarra.
“It’s a serious issue,” Minns said.
“We’ve got a major developer, particularly in Western Sydney, that potentially will leave thousands of people without a home.
“We have to think creatively about who’s going to step in. It’s not going to be easy.”
Teneo Australia has been appointed administrator for Bathla and has taken control of the group’s Girraween headquarters.
“This is an extremely complex administration process,” said Teneo’s financial advisory head Stephen Longley.
“Our priority is to secure funding to ensure that the interests of employees, customers, and suppliers are protected to the greatest extent possible.”
Longley is in talks with Bathla’s lenders to try and secure a lifeline for the group.
Bathla’s Kembla Grange development. Credit: 7NEWS
Sue Mancuso is one of thousands of buyers who have been left blindsided.
The 72-year-old paid a $32,500 deposit for an apartment at Bathla’s Kembla Grange development, near Wollongong, in October 2025.
She was told she could move in by January but is still living with her daughter.
“I just thought, no, this can’t be happening,” Mancuso said.
“I’m very, very, very worried about it.
“For us, it’s a big deposit and if we lose it, it’s hard to try and get that sort of money saved up.”
Daughter Marie said “works had stalled and we were a little bit suspicious as to what was going on”.
Sue Mancuso is one of thousands of buyers who have been left blindsided by Bathla Group going into administration. Credit: 7NEWS
7NEWS met the pair at the Kembla Grange development on Wednesday.
The complex was half-finished, locked up and eerily absent of tradies.
Charles Lethridge from Attwood Marshall Lawyers says buyers should check their rights immediately.
“They should get a solicitor to look at the contract and work out if they’re entitled to receive their deposit back, if they want to terminate, if they’re able to terminate the contract,” Lethridge said.
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