Borders housebuilder collapses into liquidation
Mon, 12 Feb 2024 | ADMINISTRATION
J S Crawford Contracts, a Melrose-based construction contractor specialising in residential housing, has collapsed and ceased trading. The company, which was founded in 1946, has fallen into liquidation as a result of factors impacting the construction industry, including inflation and contract issues.
Interpath Advisory’s Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden have been appointed as joint provisional liquidators of the company. Upon their appointment on February 7, all 23 jobs at the company have been lost.
In a statement, joint provisional liquidator and Head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland Alistair McAlinden said: “Persistent strong headwinds, including cost inflation, tight margins and labour shortages, are continuing to impact companies across the housebuilding and wider construction industry and unfortunately, in the case of J S Crawford, they were too difficult to overcome.
“The directors had worked hard to explore other options but unfortunately, had no option but to place the Company into provisional liquidation.”
Following the company’s collapse, J S Crawford director Michael Crawford said, that despite hopes that the company could trade through its financial challenges, " the necessary backing from suppliers and funders was not there.”
Crawford continued: “The failure of my business is due in the main to the delay in completion of the West Grove project. Over the past year additional and unsustainable interest charges combined with rampant cost inflation has resulted in a significant loss on the project.”
“The shareholder had been supporting the business, but these efforts were ultimately in vain, and so the only option remaining was to liquidate the company.”
In the company’s most recent accounts at Companies House, for the year ending March 31 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £220,355 and current assets at around £10.1 million. At the time, the company owed creditors more than £10 million, leaving it with net assets of just under £57,000.
Construction is among the sectors hardest hit by the UK's rising insolvency levels
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