Lincoln-based construction company Simons Group has filed for administration after facing contract delays and heavy losses
Around 180 job losses are expected, although a number of employees will be retained to help with the wind-down of the firm. These staff members will also attempt to transfer existing Simons Group contracts to alternative contractors, said administrators FRP Advisory.
The family-owned company had a £100m turnover but it was also carrying a large pension deficit of £11.3m at its last report in March 2018.
Simons Group ran into complications with its £33m contract to build the UK’s second-largest private hospital at Pebble Mill in the Midlands.
Employees were scrambling to finish the project but the client is thought to have refused to accept handover because of build quality issues.
Subcontractors have been told to stop work at Simons Group’s construction sites on Tuesday (29 October) afternoon.
Joint administrator Nathan Jones, said: “After a period of challenging trading and contract delays resulted in unsustainable cash flow difficulties, the directors of Simons Group were left with no choice but to enter the business into administration.
“Our initial focus will now be on working to ensure that any live contracts are transferred across to new contractors with minimal disruption. We will also be working closely with the Redundancy Payments Service to support all affected employees at what we know will be a difficult time.
“We will be looking to market some elements of the business for sale and encourage any interested parties to make contact with the administrators without delay.”
