Warrington cladding firm closes

ADMINISTRATORS have been appointed to a cladding firm in Warrington, which has closed its doors with the loss of 20 jobs.

Colourclad Ltd – based on the Palatine Industrial Estate at Stockton Heath, has appointed Beever & Struthers as administrators.

Charles MacMillan, partner and head of corporate recovery at Manchester-based Beever and Struthers, said the business suffered from the downturn in business affecting the construction sector as a whole, and in particular from increasing pressure on profit margins.

It was also forced to write off an estimated £350,000 when Wrexham-based civil engineering and maintenance contract firm Barnhill Construction also recently entered administration.

 “Over the past couple of years competition for work in construction has grown increasingly fierce and Colourclad had to adapt by quoting for larger contracts but at increasingly regressive margins,” said Mr McMillan.

“The business had previously concentrated on smaller refurbishment projects but the amount of this work was also badly affected by the onset of the economic downturn.

“I am proactively seeking a buyer for Colourclad but the overly competitive nature of this sector means that sadly, yet another business is likely to fail. All the employees were made redundant because there is no profitable work in progress to complete.”