Construction firm enters administration affecting 250 jobs

SPECIALIST groundwork and concrete contractor CJ Haughey Construction has been placed into administration affecting 250 jobs.

Founded in 1999, the £25m turnover company is headed up by Chris Haughey and headquartered on Middlemarch Business Park, just south of Coventry city centre.

According to a statement issued by the firm, a combination of its “ambition and the downturn in the economy has unfortunately signalled the end”.

Around 35 people are employed directly by the firm while the total figure includes those employed indirectly, such as sub-contractors. C J Haughey Plant and the group company continue to trade.

In August last year, CJ Haughey Construction secured a £21m civil engineering package for the construction of a new gas fired power station in Pembrokeshire.

It was the largest project it had ever undertaken and, being geographically away from its traditional market of the Midlands, the project combined with the economic climate proved a bridge too far, the statement added.

Mr Haughey said: “We were ambitious to grow the company and we proved that we could achieve this.

“Our targets were, in hindsight, probably too ambitious and a project of the magnitude of Pembrokeshire combined with the economic downturn proved too much and has unfortunately spelt the end of the company.

“I am personally devastated and it is with regret that the company has been placed in administration with the loss of so many jobs.”

At the age of 33, Mr Haughey was one of the youngest senior directors in the construction sector and the firm picked up several industry awards.

Martin Coyne, from the Coventry office of accountancy firm Poppleton and Appleby, has been appointed administrator and is now handling the company’s affairs.

He said: “The company has, like many others, become a victim of the current economic climate and the downturn in construction.

“We are currently reviewing the business, its contracts and work in progress.”