Harry Triguboff leads list of developers in top 500 private companies list

Two construction companies are among the top five of the 2017 Top 500 Private Companies list compiled by IBISWorld.

Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Group occupies fourth position with a revenue of $2.77 billion, while BGC is at no. 5 with revenue of $2.69 billion.

The rankings are based on revenue. Both developers, however, posted a fall in revenue on a year-on-year basis, the list showed, pointing to a slowing housing and construction market.

Triguboff, whose personal wealth is estimated to be $10.23 billion, has also been on the BRW Rich 200 list since it was first published in 1984. 

Meriton has focused on the apartment sector, but it is increasingly expanding into serviced apartment and also childcare centres. The developer last year led Australia in housing starts with 7929 dwelling constructions, about triple the number the year before.

The surprise in the pack was another developer, Hutchinson Builders, which jumped into the top 10 with a 43 percent surge in revenue at $2.3 billion.

The fourth-generation Queensland builder beat the odds of a federal work ban and a slowing housing market for his stellar performance, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Brisbane-based Hutchinsons were not allowed to tender for Commonwealth-funded projects from April 1 to June 30 for breaches of the federal Building Code related to its workers' ability to choose whether or not they joined a union.

Hutchinson chief executive Greg Quinn said the builder had considered appealing the ban, given the breaches were relatively minor and involved just a handful of its 1400 employees and 2500 sub-contractors.

The federal work amounted to only 7 per cent of its turnover, he said.

Apart from the three construction companies in the top 10, the next in the industry are way behind, with BMD Group at 34th position with revenue of $1.14 billion and Hansen Yuncken with revenue of $1.11 billion. Both grew their revenue by more than 20 percent year on year.

The top 50 was rounded off with Richard Crookes Constructions, Built, ABN Group and Salta Properties.