Bad debts bring down road surfacing firm

Bad debts and a period of poor trading figures have brought down a Leicester-based road surfacing contractor.

John Lowe and Nathan Jones were appointed as joint administrators to Martin Cowman on 27 July. The firm operated in the house building and groundworks sectors.

The business had suffered from bad debts of over £200,000 and a sustained period of soft trading and turned loss-making this year. Without any signs of improvement, the business faced severe cashflow pressures and became insolvent.

The business has ceased to trade, with 17 staff have been made redundant. A small number of staff have been retained to help the joint administrators with their duties as they wind up the business and begin an asset sale.

The administration does not include Martin Cowman Civils, the civil engineering arm of the company, which continues to trade.