Construction giant collapse sees 2,200 jobs cut

Thousands of radical person mislaid their jobs aft the UK operations of an planetary operation elephantine collapsed into administration.

Some 2,200 workers person been made redundant with contiguous effect, associated administrators EY said successful a connection connected Friday.

The business, owned by the US steadfast Cathexis, had been struggling financially for immoderate time.

Attempts to unafraid a rescue woody failed, portion 200 employees volition beryllium kept connected to assistance the administrators successful winding down the business, which holds much than £1bn worthy of authorities contracts.

Apple, Barclays and Google are besides among ISG's backstage assemblage clients successful the UK.

In a widely-reported email sent by main enforcement Zoe Price to each ISG unit connected Thursday, she said: "Some of you whitethorn person seen reports successful the media that ISG has filed for medication present successful the UK.

"With sadness, I tin corroborate that this is factually correct.

"This was not the mode I wanted you to find retired and the quality should not person leaked successful this way," she added.

Ms Price said unit would beryllium paid connected Monday, arsenic normal, and that the existent concern had arisen owed to "legacy issues" relating to "large log-making contracts" secured betwixt 2018 and 2020.

"Trading retired these projects has had a important effect connected our liquidity. So adjacent though we person been profitable this year, our bequest has led america to a constituent wherever we person been incapable to proceed trading," she wrote.

Ms Price besides said "significant efforts" had been made to find a purchaser for the concern but that these had been unsuccessful.

EY besides said connected Friday that nary imaginable buyers that had travel guardant were capable to amusement they had capable wealth to concern the operations and support the steadfast afloat.

"We privation to beryllium wide to employees, suppliers, and customers that it was not imaginable to reason a merchantability arsenic the imaginable purchaser could not, contempt repeated requests of them to bash so, adequately show that they had the backing needed to recapitalise the concern and support it solvent," they said.

The group, which was successful the mediate of enactment connected galore authorities contracts, has made the bulk of its 2,400 UK employees redundant with contiguous effect and enactment connected each projects has stopped.

ISG is progressive successful 69 authorities projects totalling much than £1bn, including enactment connected situation refurbishment for the Ministry of Justice, according to information analysts Barbour ABI.

It besides made the velodrome for the 2012 London Olympics.

Barbour ABI's main expert Ed Griffiths said the unrecorded projects, including a £300m hold to the Grendon and Springhill prisons successful Buckinghamshire, were "just the extremity of the iceberg".

"The ripple effect volition beryllium highly worrying for the hundreds of subcontractors involved," helium said.

But a authorities spokesperson said it had already implemented elaborate contingency plans, and affected departments were moving to guarantee sites were harmless and secure.