Administrators from Deloitte made 260 staff redundant at Doyle plc today.
Deloitte was called in by Doyle Group’s bank on Wednesday and placed the whole group into administration yesterday after going over the books.
Doyle Group consists of three operating businesses, the core concrete frame specialist John Doyle Construction, fit-out firm Ibex Interiors and Blythewood Plant.
Ibex Interiors and John Doyle Construction have now been closed with the loss of 260 jobs from the group’s 290-strong workforce.
Blythewood continues to trade while Deloitte looks to sell the business.
Richard Hawes, Joint Administrator and partner in the Restructuring Services practice, said: “The group has suffered a prolonged period of difficult trading which has resulted in it being unable to meet its financial obligations.
“We are in discussions with several interested parties to sell various parts of the business. We will continue to trade the Blythewood business on a limited basis with a view to securing a sale as a going concern.”
Like the rest of the concrete sector Doyle Group suffered as orders dried up in the downturn, and saw turnover shrink by a third to £79m in 2010.
The news came as rival concrete firms said they had started to receive calls from John Doyle workers.
The industry has been alight with rumours about the firm all week and the Enquirer has fielded a string of concerned calls about the company.
One London concrete contractor said: “We started to get calls on Tuesday from staff saying they were worried about their jobs.”
“There seems to be a lot of people looking for work at the moment.”
Doyle Group is run by well-known construction personality Stef Stefanou OBE.
Seventy-year-old Stefanou stepped away from day-to-day operations several years ago but was forced to return from semi-retirement to run the business again after the management’s push into general building ran into difficulty.
Any interested parties should contact Chris Coulton on: 0115 9363834. Suppliers should contact Sally Coulstring on: 0117 984 2933.
