Work on Asons’ £7m HQ comes to sudden halt

WORK on law firm Asons’ futuristic £7m headquarters at the gateway to Bolton town centre has come to an abrupt halt as an apparent consequence of the government’s crackdown on whiplash injury compensation claims.

Warrington-based Cruden Construction said its contract to build the four- office storey block on the site of the former Clarence Street School at the junction of Topp Way and St Peter’s Way was terminated on Friday afternoon.

Managing director Ian Woolrich told TheBusinessDesk.com said he received a four-line letter from Asons ending the agreement – worth up to £5m to his company – and he is now considering legal action.

“We were progressing well and we were about to put up the super-structure, but for reasons which in the letter have been put down to the Government’s stricter control of compensation for soft tissue injuries, everything has stopped,” he said.

“There were 12 people working on the site, and there is a supply chain of local businesses, including steel fabricators and brick suppliers, which will be badly affected by this.

“A contract is supposed to be legally binding, but I am a building specialist, not a law expert, so I will have to take advice.”

Work started on the site in July and was scheduled to finish by next summer with personal injury and medical negligence specialist Asons expecting to move from its base on nearby Bark Street.

The launch of the new flagship offices was also supposed to herald a further 300 jobs for the company run by brothers Imran and Kamran Akram who are chief executive and principal director respectively.

However, TheBusinessDesk after initially refusing to comment Imran Akram confirmed 3% of its 280 current workforce is facing redundancy or redeployment.

In the year to May 31 2014, the company’s turnover was up 40% on the previous year at £13.5m, while operating profits fell from £319,729 to £121,050.

Asons is not the only law firm to suffer the effects of the Government’s clampdown on compensation for minor injury payments.

Share in the Australian legal frim Slater & Gordon, which has hundreds of staff in Manchester and Liverpool took a hit in the aftermath of Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement announcement affecting personal injury claims.