Learn more about the construction companies that have fallen into administration after tough times in 2025
2025 poses its own challenges for the construction industry- the UK economy forecasts modest growth, whilst rising international tensions put strain on supply chains.
16% of companies that filed for administration in 2022 were in the construction industry, dropping to 12% in 2023. 2024 saw high-profile names such as ISG, the UK’s 6th biggest construction firm at the time, folding, with thousands of jobs lost.
Read more about which companies have fallen into administration below.
April
Breyer Group
Breyer filed a notice of appointment of an administrator after weeks of pressure from subcontractors regarding unpaid work with Lloyds Bank selecting RSM to carry out the insolvency work.
A number of winding up petitions have been registered against the South East housing contractor, who employ around 250 staff.
Originally founded in 1956 as by Fred Breyer, the company has stayed under family control under chairman Timothy Breyer. The group comprises of three businesses: Breyer Roofing, Breyer Renew and Breyer Repair.
Welsh maintenance group Cardo have now entered an asset purchase agreement to acquire Breyer’s roofing division, as well as taking on Breyer’s contract with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames for responsive repairs and maintenance, which covers around 6,000 homes.
Although financial terms of the deal were not revealed, Cardo says the move has saved nearly 100 jobs.
March
Colwin Construction
Essex-based contractor Colwin Construction specialised in groundworks and appointed admninistrators Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency on 19 March. The comapny owed nearly £3.7m to 162 creditors upon collapse.
However, three of the directors(Ben Meagher, John Howell and Trevor Schofield) launched a new company on the same day that has now acquired Colwin Construction and assets. The majority of staff joined the new company as well, with sixteen of nineteen employees transferring through TUPE. Colwin Group’s website lists its specialities as underpinning, superstructure repairs and home improvements.
Colwin Construction was acquired by the newly established Colwin Group for £70,000, according to Lewis Business Recovery, on the same day that the administrators were appointed. “The purchaser is considered a connected party by way of mutual directors,” the report said. According to the report, only one offer was received.
Lewis Business Recovery were “initially engaged” by Colwin Construction in early February and Colwin Group was established on 14 March at the same trading address as Colwin Construction, according to Companies House.
Rodells
Founded in 1898, Hertfordshire based scaffolding contractor Rodells has filed a notice to appoint administrators. The firm offers scaffolding services for large commercial and industrial projects, as well as operating a specialist access works division in St Albans.
Marbank Construction
Industrial shed specialist Marbank Construction has filed a notice to appoint administrators, leaving the future of its 24 employees in doubt.
The Surrey-based contractor was established in 1994 and operates across the South East, having built over 300 sheds to a combined value in excess of £1bn.
February
South East Groundworks
Family-run groundworks firm South East Groundworks has appointed Rikki Burton of Anderson Brookes Insolvency Practitioners Limited as liquidator and filed a resolution for winding up.
Established by Ricky Woods in 2016, the company operated across South East England, offering demolition, drainage and emergency callout services.
TNA Electrical
An administration has been filed by the Cannock-based company, which was founded by brothers Andrew and Neil Jones in 2009. According to the company website, they offered “mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) solutions to all sectors of the construction industry”.
The brothers were also directors of TNA Mechanical until they resigned and handed the reins over to Gemma Jones and Ann Jones.
The company had worked on 512 projects since it was established, valued from £70k to £12m and employed 25 staff. Unfortunately, latest accounts filed to January 31 2024 showed a turnover of £30m- and a pre-tax loss of £2.1m.
Leonard Curtis was appointed as administrator, reporting that fixed-price contracts and debts had led to the firm’s collapse, with unsecured creditors unlikely to regain any money.
Subcontractors and suppliers were owed roughly £6.9m.
Acheson Construction
Acheson Construction operated across multiple sectors in the South and South West of England, including defence, public sector, education, health, leisure, commercial, industrial and residential.
Established in 1974, the company employed around 88 people and specialised in projects valued between £500,000 to £25m. Recent pre-tax profits were reported to be £46,000 in 2023.
The business appointed Richard Lewis and Alistair Wardell of Grant Thornton UK LLP as joint administrators on 18 February 2025. All 48 were made redundant either immediately or shortly after the aministration.
A spokesperson for the administrators said: “The company has ceased to trade and will not be conducting further works in relation to any sites where work is in progress. The sites will revert back to the respective employers.”
Documents later filed at Companies House showed that 564 unsecured creditors were owed a total of £8.5m at the time of collapse. Grant Thornton planned to sell the company fleet of seven telehandlers to recoup some costs, but an aggrieved supplier withheld one of the machines. Grant Thornton said that that this has “since been successfully recovered and all plant, machinery and vehicles are now in the process of being auctioned.”
J S Wright
Mechanical and electrical specialist J S Wright, first established in 1890, and sister company Wright Maintenance, have been placed into administration.
First founded in Birmingham, the business worked on several high-rise residential projects in London, as well as across the Midlands. The company has encountered many periods of financial turmoil over the last few years. Five directors first bought out previous managers in 2017, before the company transitioned to employee ownership in 2021. Project and payment delays led to the business’ profits falling from previous multimillions to less than a million in cash liquidity and pre-tax profits in 2023. Loan repayments for the employee ownership were pushed back to May of this year.
J S Wright was notably appointed by Rydon to carry out M&E works during the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, years prior to the fire. However, the installation of the smoke extraction systems were subcontracted by J S Wright to another firm, PSB UK Ltd.
The Grenfell Tower fire inquiry did not reach a conclusion on the role of the smoke extraction systems on the tragedy and did not lay blame at J S Wright in the final report.
Administrators FRP admitted in late March that J S Wright owed around £19m at the time of collapse and that creditors and suppliers were unlikely to see any of the money.
January
Kaybridge Construction
Redmans Insolvency Services has been appointed as liquidators for the Middlesex-based groundworks, pending approval by creditors.
Kaybridge has been in business since 1972 and works on groundworks, substructures and superstructures across the UK. Their most recent results for the year to August 31 2023 reported a turnover of £30.6m, with a pre-tax loss of £1.5m.
Sheen Lane
The Richmond-based residential developer is expected to file for administration on 11 January.
They had previously delivered over 2,600 residential units and 120,000 sq ft of commercial floorspace across London and the south east, but reported a pre-tax loss of £27m in 2023, which it attributed to write-downs of over £23m on estimated profits on developments completed with or for sister companies.
Connect Modular
60 staff were made redundant at Scottish volumetric house builder Connect Modular, barely six months after the East Ayrshire firm completed its largest ever contract.
Connect Modular, who were first established in 2013 as the Wee House Company, completed the largest modular low-rise affordable housing development in Scotland in the summer of 2024 at the £17m 101 home project in Kilmarnock.
The December internal newsletter called on staff to rally for a final push in 2025 to complete affordable housing projects in the Garnock Valley, Livingston, Penicuik and Clydebank, as well as preparing to start work on Glasgow’s first operational net zero modular housing development.
Liquidators will also oversee the dissolution of related company Hope South West Limited. Both companies ceased trading as of the second week of January and all employees (38 from Connect Modular, 10 from Hope South West) have been made redundant.
FRP Advisory partners Michelle Elliot and Callum Carmichael took control of the Cumnock-based modular housebuilder on 6 January. Michelle Elliot commented: “Connect Modular Limited and Hope South West Limited had built a strong reputation and track record in delivering high quality, affordable modular homes across Scotland.
“Unfortunately, following losses made on a number of historic contracts and rising operational costs, the businesses were facing significant cash flow pressure. Despite the best efforts of the director in exploring alternatives in recent weeks, the cash position deteriorated significantly placing unsustainable pressure on the business.
“We will now focus on marketing the assets for sale and on providing every possible support to the staff for claims to the Redundancy Payments Office and accessing support agencies such as PACE.”
Ashville Aggregates and Concrete
The London-based materials supply and muck away specialists have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, leaving the future of around 50 staff in doubt for the New Year.
Clarkebond
2025 started with a shock for Clarkebond’s 140 staff, who were hit with the news that the engineering consultancy was being liquidated.
The 77-year-old firm collapsed a mere three months after it was acquired by the Independent Design House Group (IDHG), who wanted to become a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy for services spread from concept to construction.
But a combination of tripling the workforce overnight and a cultural clash between Clarkebond’s original employees and IDHG’s management led to resignations and redundancies, which threw the company into further turmoil.
