100 jobs saved as building firm puts in new foundations

Around 100 jobs have been secured after the directors of Blue Square Building agreed a deal with administrators to buy back the company.

The Telford-based business, which focused on maintaining buildings for local authorities and housing associations, had been badly hit by the failure of Carillion.

It was a long term customer of Carillion Amey as part of the Ministry of Defence programmes.

The company had traded for 20 years as Jones and Hampton and rebranded as Blue Square in 2016.

Administrator Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “The construction industry is experiencing a very difficult period as a result of the collapse of Carillion, which has not only had a knock-on effect on the firm’s many suppliers and contractors but also a big impact on confidence in the sector. This has certainly exacerbated Blue Square’s debt woes.”

Carillion collapsed in January and appointed liquidators to the business, which directly employed around 19,000 people. More than 2,300 people have since been made redundant and major projects like the construction of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital have been hit by hige delays and increased costs.

The supply chain has also been badly affected, both directly by Carillion’s non-payment of bills many of which were more than four months’ old and by the uncertainty and delays its collapse has caused across the industry.