A single mother says the only thing she has to show for the $405,000 she paid for a new home is one tap, while the director of collapsed builder Beechwood Homes has blamed “family tragedies” and soaring operating costs for the company’s failure.
Beechwood Homes Group, which was directed by Vittorio Cavasinni, operated eight companies across Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong before entering liquidation earlier this year.
The group owed approximately $75.5 million to more than 400 creditors, according to the Daily Telegraph.
William Buck insolvency specialists Sean Wengel and Michael Brereton were appointed to manage the liquidation of Beechwood Homes NSW in May, following an order from the Supreme Court of Victoria.
In documents filed with ASIC, Mr Cavasinni said the company’s collapse was linked to its fixed-price building model. He claimed Beechwood could not raise contract prices as operating expenses climbed from early 2020.
He also said his wife had experienced serious health problems and that other “tragedies” affecting the family had taken his attention away from the business.
Mr Wengel said the former director had failed to complete a director’s report that would have helped liquidators examine the company’s debts.
Virginia Fletcher, a single mother of 11, is among the many Beechwood customers left facing uncertainty after the builder’s collapse.
Beechwood Homes Group, directed by Vittorio Cavasinni, collapsed after its owner cited “family tragedies” and an inability to absorb rising operating costs
Ms Fletcher paid Beechwood Homes Constructions $405,000 in January 2025. But the promised construction, which was expected to start by Christmas, never got under way.
“I’ve got nothing to go to. Who will rent to someone with so many kids?” she told the Daily Telegraph.
“I try to put on a brave face for my children, but I am not okay.”
She said she had been forced to sell her existing home to clear about $143,000 in debt and was now worried she could not afford the deposit needed to secure another property.
Six of her 11 children still live with her, including her youngest child, who is seven.
“I am very stressed. This has impacted my functional capacity,” Ms Fletcher wrote in a fundraising appeal seeking support for her family.
“The financial loss has affected every part of my life and has had a significant impact on my children.
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“I struggle to get out of bed on many days, and I often cry myself to sleep.”
Virginia Fletcher (above), a single mother of 11, paid $405,000 to Beechwood Homes Constructions in January 2025, but construction on her home never began
Ms Fletcher started a GoFundMe campaign to support her family and warn other Australians about what happened.
“I paid Beechwood Homes [Constructions] $405,000 in good faith, believing I was entering into a building contract and that my money would be protected,” she said.
‘Following the company’s liquidation, I was informed that I was not considered to be in a building contract.
‘The liquidator advised there were insufficient assets to repay unsecured creditors and suggested I start a GoFundMe because there was little prospect of recovering my money.’
Ms Fletcher claimed her funds were paid into the company’s operating account rather than being held in trust and were spent within 35 days of payment.
‘Today, the only item I have to show for the $405,000 I paid is a single tap on my empty block of land,’ she said.
‘I understand there are numerous affected families, contractors, suppliers and pre-construction customers.’
Worrells liquidators Graeme Beattie and Aaron Lucan were appointed to oversee the other seven companies.
Several customers, like Ms Fletcher (above), were offered to have their building finished by another constructor through the Home Building Compensation Fund
Those include Cavasinni, Beechwood Homes Administration NSW, Beechwood Homes Constructions, Beechwood Homes Australia, Home Completions, Construction Administration NSW and Masonix.
Beechwood Homes NSW alone had 38 projects under construction and 68 in pre-construction when it collapsed.
Customers with unfinished homes were offered to have their building finished by another constructor through the Home Building Compensation Fund.
The Daily Mail Australia previously contacted Beechwood Homes and group director Vittorio Cavasinni.
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