Connaught workers hit by administration
WORKERS at a social housing centre in Worcestershire face losing their jobs after administrators were called in to oversee the fate of the business.
The Bromsgrove centre is part of the troubled Connaught group’s Social Housing operation, Connaught Partnerships, which went into administration yesterday.
Connaught Partnerships, which is headquartered in Leeds and employs 4,400 staff across the UK providing maintenance services to social housing associations, has gone into administration alongside the building services group’s parent company, Connaught, which is based in Exeter.
Administrator KPMG said decisions regarding redundancies at Connaught Partnerships, which also has hubs at Glasgow, Crawley and Exeter, would be announced as soon as possible.
KPMG joint administrators Richard Heis, Richard Hill and Richard Fleming will trade the business in the short term with a view to selling and moving contracts to other providers; collecting debts and working with Connaught’s customers, such as councils and housing associations, to minimise disruption to the public.
It is hoped that the majority of staff will be transferred to alternative providers, however, if transfers cannot be made redundancies will have to be made, KPMG said.
Mr Heis, restructuring partner at KPMG, said: “Following the group’s recent trading statements, a substantial review of the group’s businesses, and cash flows was carried out by the board and its advisers.
“Notwithstanding the group’s bankers providing an additional £15m overdraft, it became clear that the Partnerships business was no longer sustainable and had a substantial cash requirement significantly beyond its available lending facilities.
“The directors therefore have placed Connaught plc and Connaught Partnerships Limited and one smaller company into administration.”
“We will work closely with customers, employees, subcontractors and alternative providers to ensure services are maintained as far as possible and contracts and employees are transferred to alternative providers,” he added.
KPMG said it was business as usual for Connaught’s two other operating businesses, Connaught Compliance and Connaught Environmental.
Connaught Environmental principally comprises the Fountains business acquired in 2009; Connaught Compliance includes the National Britannia business acquired in 2007.
Connaught Technical Services, a smaller company in the Partnerships business, has also gone into administration.
Connaught has projects around the region including in Birmingham, Sandwell and Staffordshire,
