Owen Pugh civils folds as administrators fail to find buyer

Administrators have been forced to make 257 redundant at the civil engineering division of Owen Pugh after failing to find a buyer for the business.

Administrators from Grant Thornton took control of the North East contractor on Monday.

They had hoped to sell the business as a going concern.

But only 30 workers now remain at Owen Pugh Aggregates which administrators are still looking to sell.

Grant Thornton told ITV: “All 30 employees at the Owen Pugh Aggregates site have been retained and are working with the Joint Administrators to help effect a going concern sale.

“To date, we have received a significant amount of interest from potential purchasers.

“Unfortunately, and despite our best efforts, the position regarding the other businesses making up the Group is less positive.

“Upon our appointment it quickly become clear that the civil engineering contracting arm of the business was not viable and further trading could not be supported.

“Furthermore, key customers highlighted that the insolvency of the Group had triggered contract termination clauses.

“In turn, due to the inter-dependency within the Group on these large civil engineering contracts, there was a knock on effect on the viability of the plant hire and drain services businesses.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/10/11/owen-pugh-civils-folds-as-administrators-fail-to-find-buyer/

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