Symphony Hall contractor collapses into administration
A specialist contractor which worked on the refurbishment of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall has collapsed into administration with the loss of 44 jobs.
Facade specialist Speedclad had been a profitable business before the pandemic, generating £1m profit on revenues of £22m in the year to January 2020.
Its profits then fell 90% in the following year, as revenues dipped to £19m through the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the economic backdrop became tougher, one of its major contracts became loss-making, which had a “profound impact” on working capital.
This exacerbated problems caused by “a number of postponed or abandoned contracts, supply chain challenges, material and labour shortages, and rising prices”.
The business had employed around 80 people last year. But 44 staff have now been made redundant with a “small number” kept on to support the administrators.
James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators this week after rescue efforts failed. They are now seeking a buyer for the business, its assets and intellectual property.
Lumb warned that Speedclad’s failure “is symptomatic of the growing challenges facing the construction sector, particularly cladding and facades businesses”.
He added: “Speedclad is historically profitable and has delivered notable projects such as the facades at the Wellington Place office development in Leeds. The company is a well-respected business with strong goodwill in the market from customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
“Whilst we are hopeful of finding a solution for Speedclad, its administration suggests that other strong businesses could be facing similar challenges.”
Speedclad is headquartered in Northallerton and has a regional office in Doncaster, while it previously had a Midlands site that used to be at Birmingham Business Park then moved to Tamworth.
As well as providing the facade for the Symphony Hall, it has also worked on London Taxi Company’s production facility in Coventry, Chamberlain Hall student residences at the University of Birmingham and the Beorma Quarter in Birmingham city centre.
