Blantyre firm Chard Construction go into administration

Jan 28 2010 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

A MAJOR dispute concerning one of the West of Scotland’s most prestigious building contracts was this week blamed for the collapse of county construction firm.

Directors of Blantyre-based Chard called in administrators after suffering cash flow difficulties.

A total of 110 of the firm’s 117-strong workforce have already been made redundant.

Chard was formed about 28 years ago and built a solid reputation on the back of mainstream building construction contracts and refurbishment work for food retailers.

They had an annual turnover of £45m and were tipped for further growth when they won the contract for the £25m scheme to convert the former headquarters of Royal Scottish Automobile Club, in Blythswood Square, Glasgow, into a 100-room luxury hotel.

Chard staff had been working on the project up until Friday and the first phase of the five-star hotel, with its 150-cover restaurant, opened in November.

However, county building industry sources say the project led to difficulties for the company.

A spokesman for administrators Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar, of accountants KPMG, said: “The company have recently suffered intense cash flow difficulties as a result of a major dispute on their largest building contract which ultimately led to the directors taking steps to have administrators appointed.

“The administrators have unfortunately had no option but to cease the company’s trading activity with the regrettable consequence of making 110 members of staff redundant.”

A county building industry source, with knowledge of the company, added: “They have been working on transforming the former Royal Scottish Automobile Club building in Blythswood Square into a top-class hotel but the project didn’t go well for them and fell way behind schedule.

“They have also been involved in the conversion of a former nightclub building in Glasgow and that project has also been plagued with problems.

“It’s no secret the company have been struggling over the last few months and would probably have gone to the wall just before Christmas had the bank not bailed them out, but that was only postponing the inevitable.”

He added: “It’s a real shame because Chard had been an excellent employer and the news will come as a real blow to every person and business associated with the company.”

A spokesman for the Town House Collection, owners of the hotel, said: “We have been told that Chard have gone into administration but contractual arrangements are always confidential.

“We now have to review the situation with the aim of appointing another contractor to complete the job.”

Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar, of KPMG Restructuring, were appointed joint administrators of Chard on Friday.

Mr Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said: “It is with regret that we have had to make 110 redundancies across Chard Construction Limited’s operations.

“We are working with Government agencies to ensure employees’ issues are dealt with as best as possible.”

The remaining employees will be assisting the administrators in maximising recoveries from the company’s assets.

Anyone with an interest in the assets of Chard Construction Limited should contact Tony Friar on 0141 226 5511.

The demise of Chard Construction is the second blow in a few days to the Lanarkshire building sector.

Kilwuddie Construction, who were based in Hamilton before relocating to East Kilbride, went into administration last week with the loss of 125 jobs (full story on page 25).

l Did you work for Chard on the hotel conversion? Contact John Rowbotham, telephone 01698 205165, or e-mail jrowbotham@s-sun.co.uk