Specialist contractors accounted for two of the three biggest company failures recorded in the third quarter of 2018.
M&E firm George Birchall and Cuddy Demolition & Dismantling were the biggest insolvencies in the sector over the period, according to a report by business intelligence firm Creditsafe.
Birmingham-based building firm William Sapcote, which dates back to 1853, was finally dissolved following a 10-year-long creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL).
Meanwhile, the number of failures in construction during the third quarter of 2018 leapt to 943 – an increase of 44% on the 527 recorded in the same period a year before, according to Creditsafe.
Using proprietary data from its Insolvency Index report, Creditsafe found the construction industry to have the second-highest rate of business failures out of any sector at 0.22%, behind hospitality which accounted 0.33%.
The report also found that construction was hit with a total of £10,652,422 of bad debt over the three-month period, with the average amount owed to construction companies from failed businesses at £16,388.
The construction industry itself left a total of £63,886,596 in bad debt owed to other companies over the period, which was an average of £12,490 owed to companies from failed construction businesses.
Chris Robertson, UK managing director of Creditsafe, said: “Our insolvency index has produced interesting results that show the pressure that all sectors across the UK economy are under. Clearly, company failures in some sectors hit the headlines more than others, but this data shows that the rate of failure in the hospitality, construction and manufacturing industries in particular is cause for concern.”
