Bathla-linked land purchase delays pointed to property funding strain before group's collapse

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Bathla land purchase delays

Highlights

Bathla-linked companies failed to settle three major NSW property transactions worth $130 million on time, prompting court action and highlighting funding pressures.
Despite reporting over $2.59 billion in assets and $62 million annual after-tax profit in 2021-22, Bathla's poor settlement record and court disputes signaled deeper cash flow and financing concerns.
By August 2026, Bathla enters voluntary administration after $150 million operating cash outflow and $160 million in new borrowings, with management citing weaker sales, market confidence, and rising costs.

Court cases highlight settlement and finance pressures

As reported by ABC News, an examination of court records identifies three major property transactions worth a combined $130 million in which Bathla-linked or associated companies fail to complete purchases on time, pushing sellers to seek relief in the NSW Supreme Court.

One dispute centres on Michael Ryan's $39.5 million property sale in Sydney's north-west. Ryan entered into a put-and-call option agreement in October 2021 with Bathla subsidiary UPG 322, which exercised the option about a year later and signed a sale contract the following month. But when settlement is due in April 2023, the buyer does not complete the purchase, then misses further deadlines in May and October. The NSW Supreme Court rules that the purchase should complete in November 2023, but that deadline is missed too.

Penny Cable, head of the property group at McCabes Lawyers and Ryan's representative, says repeated delays are frustrating, including one attempted settlement that falls apart late in the day after financing does not arrive. Court records show the purchasing entity struggles to secure funds, and after missing the court-ordered deadline Bathla's lawyers tell Ryan's solicitor they are unable to obtain the necessary finance. Three months later, they present a term sheet from private credit firm Alceon covering less than 60 per cent of the original purchase price, with the document stating it is not an offer of finance and remains subject to conditions.

The judge describes the evidence of the company's ability to complete the purchase as "flimsy and unconvincing". He also notes that founder Bhart Bhushan, a guarantor under the deal, provides no explanation for failing to comply with court orders to complete the sale.

Court documents reveal two other cases. In one, subsidiary UPG 318 fails to complete a $20.6 million purchase of another Box Hill property, and the NSW Supreme Court orders completion in September 2024. In another, Raj & Jai (Mudgee) Pty Ltd defaults on a $70 million agreement to acquire interests in a partly developed residential estate in regional NSW; in June 2025, the court orders the purchaser to complete the transaction and directs it and its parent company to pay default interest. Less than a month later, Raj & Jai (Mudgee) is renamed Mudgee Properties and enters liquidation.

Expansion strategy left group exposed

At the same time as these funding delays, the wider Bathla group reports more than $2.59 billion in assets and annual after-tax profits above $62 million in 2021-22. Brian Silvia, principal of CasCap Advisory, says the apparent gap between reported profits and settlement problems can reflect cash flow pressure as well as financing issues.

The property at the centre of Ryan's dispute is later mortgaged by Alceon, the same lender whose conditional proposal is earlier presented to the court. Land title documents show that in December 2024 Ryan's mortgage is discharged and, on the same day, Alceon registers its own mortgage over the land. By then, Alceon has financed Bathla developments for about a decade.

Alceon co-founder Trevor Loewensohn says Bathla is a good borrower, but in its later years the lender believes the developer is expanding too quickly. He says Alceon steps up oversight of the projects it finances by late 2024, though it has limited power to control the group's broader expansion. In December 2025, Bathla refinances Alceon's full exposure of nearly $460 million, including the Box Hill property.

Silvia says repeated delays in settling land purchases, particularly when disputes end up in court, can signal deeper financial problems. Bathla's 2024-25 financial statements lodged with ASIC show a $62 million profit but also a $150 million operating cash outflow, alongside $160 million in proceeds from borrowings. When the group enters voluntary administration in August 2026, managing director Bhart Bhushan blames a "perfect storm" of slower property sales, federal budget changes, weaker market confidence and rising construction costs.

In our earlier article on sovereign borrowing risks in a higher-rate environment, we noted that persistent geopolitical shocks and elevated fiscal spending can keep funding costs high and intensify refinancing pressure. We also highlighted that emerging and frontier markets are especially exposed because interest-service burdens tend to be heavy relative to narrower revenue bases, while energy and food-price shocks can worsen inflation and strain public finances.

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