Black Sand Windows Pty Ltd: Construction company suddenly collapses into liquidation owing almost $900k: Customers complain of unfinished work

A construction company specializing in custom aluminum windows and doors has collapsed, owing creditors almost $900,000.

Black Sand Windows Pty Ltd, based in Torquay, southwest of Melbourne, went into liquidation on July 14.

The company has worked on residential, commercial and industrial projects across the city.

It is now in the hands of Brent Leigh Morgan of liquidation company Rodgers Reidy.

The company’s social media pages still exist, with some customers complaining about unfinished work in the comments of several posts.

A customer claimed that the company’s director, Clark McGrath, had been unreachable for months.

“Please contact Craig urgently as soon as possible regarding the current construction at Lonsdale. We tried to contact Clark with no response despite leaving several messages. Thank you,” they wrote on Instagram in January.

Clark McGrath, Director of Black Sand Windows

In August, the same customer said he was still waiting at his windows.

“Once again we have been unable to contact Clark regarding our windows/glass which was due to arrive today. They were actually supposed to arrive months ago, but ANOTHER date was set for today,” they wrote on Facebook.

A liquidator’s report found Black Sand Windows still owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and superannuation to former employees at the time of its collapse.

Up to $15,000 in unpaid wages, $19,000 in annual leave and more than $50,000 in unpaid superannuation are still owed, according to Mr Morgan’s report.

When the company closed in July, it owed $890,000 to 50 creditors.

“To date, no advance has yet been granted to employees,” Mr. Morgan wrote.

Supply issues, increased material and labor costs as well as debt collection issues are believed to have contributed to the closure, according to the report.

“The company’s cash flow problems resulted in insufficient working capital to continue operations,” Mr Morgan said.

Black Sand Windows, formerly Geelong Property Force, was run by Mr McGrath as a sole trader before becoming a company in September 2021.

Supply issues, rising material and labor costs and debt collection problems are believed to have contributed to the closure of Black Sand Windows, according to a liquidator’s report.

The company is now in the hands of Brent Leigh Morgan of liquidation company Rodgers Reidy.

The company moved to Torquay two months later, where the report alleges Mr McGrath purchased “part of the existing business from the previous tenant taking on various employees, stock for ongoing work and installations and equipment, some of which were subject to finance’.

However, the former tenant denied this and insisted there was only an asset sale, the report said.

Mr McGrath reportedly told liquidators his business began experiencing problems after some materials were found to be unsuitable.

He added that workers he had employed at the Torquay site had wanted to part ways with the company, contributing to its downfall.

“Once again, it should be noted that the former tenant disputes this assertion and I have yet to confirm whether this is correct,” the liquidator wrote in his report.

Black Sand Windows employees were laid off while the manager evaluated the company’s options, the report said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the liquidation company and Mr McGrath for comment.