Supply Chain

The firm responsible for M&E work during Grenfell Tower's refurbishment has filed for administration. The move means that Birmingham-based M&E contractor J.S.Wright & Co, which became an employee-owned trust in 2021, is set to stop trading after 135 years. The firm was appointed by Grenfell’s main contractor Rydon to carry…

An industry body for building materials is demanding “tangible policies” after new research laid bare the extent of the sector’s sales slump last year. The Mineral Products Association (MPA) called for ministers to create business confidence and unlock spending on construction as it revealed significant dips in transaction volumes last…

Demolition firm Brown and Mason Group has seen its profits quadruple, leading to a sixfold margin increase despite a second successive year of lower turnover. Group accounts for the year to 30 April 2024 were filed today (29 January) with Companies House. They reveal that the firm’s pre-tax profit more…

Demolition contractor Colemans has reported its highest revenue in four years. Newly published results for the firm, formerly known as Coleman Group and parent company of Coleman & Company, showed it turned over £20.5m in the year ending 30 April 2024. The figure is up from the £13m posted in…

A judge has overturned an adjudicator’s decision that a subcontractor was owed £1m due to an invalid pay less notice. In October 2024, adjudicator Neil Boothroyd found Placefirst Construction should pay CAR Construction (NE) £867,031 plus VAT – a total of £1m – following a dispute at a large residential…

Former employees of a contractor that went into administration last spring have received compensation because they were not consulted before they lost their jobs. The 20 former employees of ARJ Construction all received 90 days’ pay after the Employment Tribunal found the contractor did not consult them or any union…

Two key scaffolding bodies have asked ministers to add scaffolders to the UK’s shortage occupation list for immigration. The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) and Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) have warned the government that its ambitions for housing, infrastructure and energy are at risk due to skills…

Subcontractors and suppliers are set to miss out on £10.8m following the collapse of a major contractor. More than 70 former employees who submitted claims totalling £2m are also expected to be out of pocket, according to Blenheim House’s administrators. Documents released by administrators at Evelyn Partners on 20 January…

Joanna Rees is a partner at law firm Blake Morgan The collapse of ISG in September created waves across the UK’s construction industry. It served as a painful reminder of the knock-on effects that insolvency can have throughout the supply chain, and the challenges it creates in both the private…

A Northern Irish fit-out firm involved in high-profile jobs, including London’s Claridge’s hotel, has been bought out of administration. Pure Fitout, based in Newtownabbey, had been under “severe financial strain” and was forced to appoint administrators earlier this month. The company blamed a set of “substantial unpaid invoices” for its…