Owen Pugh collapsed owing £7.6m

North East contractor Owen Pugh’s collapse hit its bank hardest with unsecured creditors being owed around £1m of its estimated £7.6m debt.

A report by administrators reveals that main secured lender HSBC is owed £6.3m following the collapse of Owen Pugh Holdings and its related businesses.

Administrator from Grant Thornton also confirmed they were close to finalising the sale of Owen Pugh Aggregates’ Marsden Quarry and Landfill site, possibly saving 18 jobs.

Buyer lined up for Marsden Quarry, north of Sunderland, which has been working for over one hundred years

In total over 260 were axed in the wake of the £40m turnover quarrying to civil engineering group’s administration.

Among the unsecured creditors plant hirer John Nixon is owed over £200,000, County Durham-based HF Colton Plant Hire was hit for at least £120,000.

The report to creditors reveals that Grant Thornton was called in by the board to look at the group’s affairs as early as two years ago.

Continuing to suffer from cash flow pressure Grant Thornton were brought back by the company in January 2016. By April 2017  Owen Pugh’s bank called for a further review and restructuring after a further funding request.

Despite help from HSBC and more time being granted by HMRC over a £1m payment, the group’s cashflow problems deepened.

In a last ditch attempt to save the firm its shares were sold to Merino Industries in the summer in return for a £1m loan to pump up working capital.

Despite support from its bank, Merino and the HMRC, the Pugh remained in a highly distressed state only to then be hit by several adjudication awards well below management expectations, reports the adminstrator.

In early October as bosses tried in vain to put together another restructuring plan for an extra £1m from the bank, winding up petitions against Owen Pugh Civil Engineering and Owen Pugh Contracts.

The firm’s fate was sealed then as agency labour and hired plant was withdrawn bringing jobs to a halt and forcing directors to call in administrators.

 

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/12/18/owen-pugh-collapsed-owing-7-6m/

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Carillion sells stake in £150m Durham scheme

Arlington Real Estate and The Richardson family have acquired Carillion’s joint venture share in the £150m Milburngate development.

The deal comes as the crisis-hit contractor sells its commercial property assets to raise cash to pay down debt and fund work in progress.

Two months ago it sold its Ask Real Estate business for £14m, all to The Richardson family. This included Ask’s £300m planned Manchester Goods Yard scheme.

The £150m development on Durham City’s Riverside will continue to be delivered as planned as the project approaches its first stage of construction.

This will start once Thompsons of Prudhoe finishes demolition of the former Passport Office building on the site in the New Year.

The project to build 400 new riverside properties and 150,000 sq ft of office space, also featuring an Everyman Cinema was to be built be Carillion.

Allan Cook, Managing Director of Arlington Real Estate, said: “Arlington and the Richardsons have been the driving force behind the regeneration of Durham’s Riverside, which will continue with the ongoing development of Milburngate.

“This remains a once in a lifetime opportunity to breathe new life into this important part of Durham City and, as a proud North East business, we are committed to delivering a landmark development that will not only benefit Durham, but the wider North East region.”

Mark Morgan, Head of Real Estate for the Richardsons, said: “Milburngate is an exceptional development for the North East of England and we are delighted to strengthen our role in the joint venture alongside Arlington.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/12/18/carillion-sells-stake-in-150m-durham-scheme/

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B&K books £14m Tees Valley council-funded hotel

Bowmer & Kirkland has secured a £14.4m project to build a hotel in Stockton-on-Tees as part of the ambitious Northshore development.

The seven-storey hotel project is being funded by the local council to help kick-start developments plans for the area, drawn up by urban regeneration specialist Muse.

Over a 15-month build programme B&K will deliver the 128-bed hotel with surface car parking, operated by mid-market chain Hampton by Hilton.

The 56-acre Northshore development is transforming the riverside through 450,000 sq ft of new commercial development and 200 new family houses.

The scheme’s first two commercial buildings – a headquarter offices for Thirteen Group and a Innovation Centre called ‘Fusion Hive’ – are now complete.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/12/18/bk-books-14m-tees-valley-council-funded-hotel/

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Van Elle defeats founder’s boardroom coup bid

The retired founder of ground engineering specialist Van Elle has failed in his bid to rejoin the Nottingham company’s board.

Retired chairman Michael Ellis had publically questioned the running of the recently listed piling specialist after a dispute with chief executive Jon Fenton.

But on Friday afternoon at a general meeting, Ellis failed to win backing from shareholders on a motion seeking his reappointment and his son-in-law and former managing director Thomas Lindup, who also left Van Elle last year.

Shareholders were also asked to vote to remove Fenton as chief executive and Robin Williams as senior independent director.

After allowing for Ellis and his family stake of 20%, some 98% voted against the motions.

Last month Fenton revealed he was leaving Van Elle due to a serious family illness.

Adrian Barden, Chairman of Van Elle, said: “The requisition has been an unnecessary and disruptive distraction.  We are pleased that all of the resolutions have been comprehensively rejected by shareholders.  

“We can now get back to managing the business and delivering our long-term growth strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Van Elle’s boardroom after a dispute with chief executive Jon Fenton.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/12/17/van-elle-defeats-founders-boardroom-coup-bid/

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Complete design of a silicon quantum computer chip unveiled

Research teams all over the world are exploring different ways to design a working computing chip that can integrate quantum interactions. Now, engineers believe they have cracked the problem, reimagining the silicon microprocessors we know to create a complete design for a quantum computer chip that can be manufactured using mostly standard industry processes and components.

from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171215094458.htm

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Nanostructures control heat transfer

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in precisely controlling temperature-dependent thermal conductivity with the help of polymer materials. These advanced functional materials were initially produced for laboratory experiments. The findings are of great relevance to the development of new concepts of thermal insulation.

from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171216154218.htm

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More electronic materials opened up with new metal-organic framework

More materials for electronic applications could be identified, thanks to the discovery of a new metal-organic framework (MOF) that displays electrical semiconduction with a record high photoresponsivity, by a global research collaboration.

from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171215105152.htm

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