SERIAL Hunter building industry shonk Daniel Roberts has been declared bankrupt for the second time in less than a decade, owing $25 million to more than a dozen creditors.
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Despite his cries of crippling financial stress, Roberts, 38, is still spotted driving around Newcastle between development sites in a luxury Porsche 911.
The British expat quietly declared himself bankrupt in April, appointing Stewart Free, of Jirsch Sutherland, as his bankruptcy trustee.
But Roberts' plan to convince creditors to forgive nearly all his bad debts so his bankruptcy could be annulled after three months went horribly wrong at a meeting in August.
Creditors narrowly voted against Roberts' proposal that would have seen the $25 million debt erased if he paid them 1 cent in the dollar, or $250,000, over three years.
It's understood a large portion of the debt is owed to friends and associates and some voted in favour of the proposal.
But other creditors were not so supportive, and voted against the deal that would have seen them walk away with virtually nothing.
They were also successful in requesting a change in bankruptcy trustee, with Andrew Scott of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) appointed.
A Newcastle Herald investigation revealed in November 2020 that Roberts and his business partner Shashanth Shankar Tellakula Gowrishankar were linked to numerous building companies accused of leaving a string of construction and financial disasters across the Hunter.
Dozens of people - including homeowners, tradies, developers and suppliers - spoke to the Herald, alleging a host of defective or incomplete work and unpaid bills causing nightmares for unsuspecting homeowners and businesses.
Roberts was also declared bankrupt in August 2014.
It's understood creditors are eyeing a development site at 36 Abel St, Wallsend, which in nearing completion and according to a development application approved by City of Newcastle, includes 20 attached two-storey dwellings being built at a cost of more than $2 million.
The site was sold about a year later for $400,000 to another related company called Abel Street Developments.
Shankar is the director of Abel Street Developments and he and Mr Roberts were the shareholders.
But about a month before Roberts declared himself bankrupt in April, his shares in Abel Street Developments were sold to Ivana Gojisova.
Last month, NSW Police represented Ms Gojisova in a contested apprehended domestic violence order application against Roberts in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.
The matter is due to go to a hearing in May next year.
It's understood many of the townhouses have been sold and Love Realty currently has one for sale on popular real estate websites.
Last year Roberts, of Wallsend, became the first person in the NSW construction industry to be held personally liable for being negligent under new laws designed to tighten protection for homeowners and owners' corporations.
In a NSW legal first, he was ordered by the Supreme Court to pay more than $1 million, which is still outstanding, to a group of mum-and-dad developers after he deliberately trashed their Jesmond construction project.
Described by the NSW government as the 'biggest shake-up in building laws in our state's history', the changes were introduced in 2020 in the wake of Sydney's Opal Tower fiasco, in which design and construction failures contributed to faults in the 36-storey building.
Under the new laws any person who carries out construction work, not just licenced builders, has a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects and negligence.
Roberts, who is not a licenced builder, was overseeing the commercial construction of a boarding house in Goodwin St, Jesmond, for DSD Builders - controlled by his then wife Angela Sendjirdjian and now in liquidation - when a dispute broke out in early 2018 about money and defects.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that following the dispute, Roberts took to deliberately trashing the property and stealing building materials. Sewer pipes were blocked with concrete, a circular saw used to cut through structural beams, holes drilled through walls, plumbing, external cladding and the roof and the bathroom waterproofing was deliberately damaged.
Roberts also stole the internal stairs, skylights and almost every window and door from the property.
Goodwin Street Developments was successful in pursuing a claim for $586,000 to rectify the damage and replace stolen goods and $300,000 to fix defects.
The court heard the development was riddled with defects, including an exposed unsupported pier footing, frame built on sewer pipes, brick retaining wall not waterproofed, non-existent termite protection system and black mould on timber frames.
The development was to house up to 35 students at a cost of about $2.4 million.
It's understood the group of Hunter-based mum-and-dad investors behind the project are more than $5 million out of pocket following a six-year battle against DSD Builders.
While the Jesmond boarding house sits unfinished and derelict, Roberts and Shankar have been working on the multi-million dollar development almost completed in Abel St, Wallsend.
The Newcastle Herald has reported extensively on a Gillieston Heights couple's battle with BH Australia Constructions, fronted by Roberts and Shankar, that left their home unfinished and full of defects.
Phillip Kapeller and Rachael Cesnik won a court judgement that the company owed them $191,366 and legal fees, but they have not received a cent from the pair. The couple were left with an unfinished home full of defects and were $400,000 out of pocket.
- Know more? Donna.page@newcastleherald.com.au
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