A year ago, our previous Managing Director Gene Paterson reflected that “Although the boom times are over, the world is not going to end in 2015. Life will go on.” And so it did.
Although our business serves clients throughout Queensland, our core business is in the Mackay/Whitsunday region, and like many businesses here we have not been immune to the effects of the downturn. Transactional work in Property (conveyancing and leasing) as well as work for developers slumped to levels not seen in more than 2 decades. Statistical data paints the picture fairly accurately and shows that residential house and land sale numbers in Mackay this year were only 70% of 2014 sales numbers and only 30% compared to the number of sales in 2012.
We have been fortunate, being a practice that offers services in all areas of law, to have had numerous other opportunities to take up the slack. 2015 has seen significant growth in our Wills and Estates, Family Law, Restructuring and Insolvency, and Commercial Litigation. I have particularly enjoyed the opportunity to become involved in a number of restructuring transactions that have assisted clients to manage their way through the challenging economic conditions and continue their business.
As 2015 draws to a close, it is timely to reflect on the year. Whilst 2015 has presented many challenges and hard decisions it is worth remembering that we all enjoy an enviable standard of living by world standards. Even if times might have been better, we have much to be thankful for.
2016 will present many new opportunities as well as some challenges. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future in the Mackay & Whitsunday region.
On behalf of the Directors and Staff of Macrossan & Amiet I wish all of our clients a happy and safe Christmas and an enjoyable and prosperous 2016. Be sure to take some time out of your busy life to enjoy the magic of the holidays this festive season.
