400 jobs at risk as contractor appoints administrators
Around 400 jobs are at risk after Staffordshire contractor George Birchall Service appointed administrators.
The move comes six months after its mechanical and electrical contracting division – George Birchall Ltd – also collapsed, with the loss of 141 jobs.
The Service company specialised in facilities management and maintenance.
Steven Stokes and Raj Mittal, partners at FRP Advisory, have been appointed as administrators.
The business ceased to trade on March 28 and administrators have said a majority of the 400 employees have since been made redundant or have transferred under TUPE to replacement contractors
Stokes said: “George Birchall Service had suffered severe cashflow pressures in recent months, which forced the business into administration. Every attempt had been made by the directors to secure a more positive outcome for all concerned, however, when it came apparent in recent days that a sale of the business could not be achieved, the extremely difficult decision was made to place the company into administration.
“Our immediate priority is now to support affected employees and work closely with clients to ensure the smooth transition of contracts. We are hopeful that this will include the further transfer of a significant proportion of the workforce to alternative contractors.”
The company’s most recent published accounts only show the position as it was two years ago. In the year to March 2017, it made a £260,000 pre-tax profit on revenues of £21.7m.
