The Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group Wales/Cymru has called the collapse of Dawnus a “Welsh Carillion”
SEC Group said the collapse of Dawnus Construction Group would impact upon large numbers of SMEs in Wales.
Speaking on behalf of SEC Group Wales/Cymru Catharine Griffiths-Williams, the national executive officer, said she was extremely concerned over the extent of the knock-on effect on the engineering firms in her sector.
Griffiths-William said: “Nearly all the work carried out by Dawnus was outsourced to SMEs which will now bear the brunt of the losses from the insolvency. Again this highlights the financial fragility of the large construction firms and the consequent risks to their sub-contractors which could now lose millions of pounds.
“The impact on the Welsh economy could be very damaging. There is also a human cost involved. I’m very concerned for the people in Wales who worked for Dawnus and its sub-contractors whose jobs will now be at stake.”
SEC Group Wales/Cymru now believes that this is a wake-up call to all public bodies in Wales to implement the Welsh Government’s policy on project bank accounts (PBAs). PBAs are ring-fenced bank accounts that protect monies due for payment to sub-contractors in construction supply chains.
Griffiths-Williams added that she was also concerned that many supply chain firms will lose their retention monies which would have been held back by Dawnus.
She added: “These retention monies belong to the firms from whom they have been withheld. Again these monies must be protected and to that end we will be inviting the Welsh Government to legislate to provide such protection.”
