Money

Glasgow construction firm goes under with the loss of 148 jobs



Glasgow-based Central Building Contractors (Glasgow) has gone into administration with the immediate loss of 148 jobs.

Blair Nimmo and Geoffrey Jacobs were appointed as administrators today at the privately owned, family run construction business.

The administrators have kept on the firm’s remaining 11 employees to help with the administration process.

Established in 1971, the company provided construction design, development and maintenance services throughout Scotland.

The administrators said that the company has suffered challenging trading conditions in construction which had meant reduced margins, contract disputes and delays in the start of a number of significant projects.

Despite the directors taking actions to address the situation, the administrators said these factors left the business with a significant funding shortfall.

At the time of the administrators’ appointment, in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines, all projects had been closed for five weeks.

The administrators said it was not possible for the business to trade in administration, even should the lockdown be removed soon.

They had therefore decided to make 148 of the 159 employees redundant with the remainder working on the administration.

The joint administrators said they were exploring whether an early sale of the business or some of its assets can be secured.

The assets include three freehold properties, numerous contracts, order book work in progress and construction equipment.

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and KPMG’s head of restructuring said: “Central Building Contractors (Glasgow) Limited has a rich history and is a well-known and highly regarded business in Scotland, but, despite the efforts of the directors, the business faced a range of cashflow challenges in recent times, which were amplified by the recent Covid-19 lockdown.

“We will be working to support the employees and have already initiated matters with relevant government agencies to ensure the full range of support is available to all those affected.

“We would encourage any party who has an interest in acquiring any part of the business and assets to contact us as soon as possible.”

James McAlpine, director at Central Building Contractors (Glasgow) Limited, said: “Already difficult trading conditions have been greatly exacerbated by Covid-19 which has made our financial position unsustainable.

“It is with significant regret that administration has been necessary.

“We have been very fortunate to have loyal and hard-working staff, a supportive supply chain and professional partners, many of whom have worked closely with the business for a great many years. “We will work closely with the administrators to ensure every possible assistance is provided to all our employees during this exceptionally difficult time.”



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.