Anger as Wrekin goes into administration
CONSTRUCTION group Wrekin has gone into administration just days after it was awarded a contract by Defence Estates for work at RAF Menwith Hill near Harrogate.
The Telford in Shropshire-based group, which has regional sites in Bradford, Runcorn and Wellingborough, is blaming Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its troubles after the bank refused to extend credit to cover cash-flow problems.
Joint administrator Ernst & Young said the group employs around 600 staff with around 30 employed in Bradford.
Wrekin announced on Monday that it had been awarded the RAF Menwith Hill contract, which was due to start later this month.
In a statement Wrekin said that its current order book up to the beginning of March was £40m for the calender year.
It had an overdraft facility of £4.25m and was overdrawn by £2.8m. Winding up petitions however meant that the account was frozen.
“As a result of this administration, the taxpayer may have to make redundancy payments of £2.5m and there will be the ongoing unemployment costs for more than 500 employees,” it added.
“All Wrekin Construction needed to keep going in a very competitive market was £2m to £3m.”
RBS said it had worked with the Wrekin Group to help them resolve their financial difficulties.
“We have given very careful consideration to their situation and regrettably concluded that the business was unsustainable due to the extent of creditor pressure,” a spokesman said.
The company was established in 1960 and its work includes motorway and highway construction, refurbishment work to canals, rivers, rail routes, rail infrastructure, sewers and drainage.
