Single mum who paid collapsed builder her life savings speaks out – as construction boss blames ‘family tragedies’ for the business going under with $75million in debts

A single mother has revealed how she only has a single tap to show for the $405,000 she paid for a house – as the director of a collapsed builder attributes the business’ failure to ‘family tragedies’ and increased operational costs. 

Beechwood Homes Group, directed by Vittorio Cavasinni, ran eight companies across Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong before entering liquidation earlier this year.

It owed about $75.5million to more than 400 creditors, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Sean Wengel and Michael Brereton, from William Buck, were appointed to oversee Beechwood Homes NSW’s liquidation in May after it was ordered by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In reports lodged with ASIC, Mr Cavasinni claimed his business failed because it ran as a fixed-price builder and wasn’t able to increase its prices as operational costs inflated from early 2020.

Mr Cavasinni added his wife had struggled with health issues and the family faced other ‘tragedies’ that distracted him from work. 

Mr Wengel said the former boss had not completed a director’s report to assist liquidators’ investigation into the company’s debts. 

Virginia Fletcher, a single mother of 11, is one of the many Beechwood customers left in the lurch since the company’s collapse.

She paid $405,000 to Beechwood Homes Constructions in January 2025 but construction, which was due to break ground by Christmas, never began.

‘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.’

Ms Fletcher said she had to sell her existing home to repay about $143,000 in debt and is worried as she cannot afford to pay the deposit for another property.

She added that six of her 11 children still live in the family home, with the youngest just seven years old.

‘I am very stressed. This has impacted my functional capacity,’ she wrote in a fundraising campaign to help support her family.

‘The financial loss has affected every part of my life and has had a significant impact on my children. 

‘I struggle to get out of bed on many days, and I often cry myself to sleep.’

Ms Fletcher launched the GoFundMe campaign to help her family and serve as a warning to other Australians.

‘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.

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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