The building specialist, ME Construction, has gone into administration as they owe subcontractors and suppliers close to £4m
FRP Advisory, the administrator for ME Construction, revealed that more than 300 trade creditors were owed £3.8m after the firm went under in March 2023.
MEC Groundworks, the civil arm of ME Construction, also went into liquidation, owing over £100,000 to unsecured creditors. Twelve jobs were lost after the collapse of MEC Groundworks. Suppliers have been left with unpaid invoices and are unlikely to receive any payment for their debts.
ME Construction was founded by Barry O’Sullivan and Dennis Bernard, Barry O’Sullivan, and Dennis Bernard, in 2007. They both left the business three years ago.
ME Construction has experienced success in the past
The company specialised in small to medium heritage, residential, commercial, healthcare and school projects within the M25 area. The company’s revenue peaked at around £23m before the pandemic. Management accounts from December 2021 showed a turnover of £17m and a net profit of £177,000.
ME Construction Ltd was recognised as the UK’s fastest-growing privately owned construction company in 2012. They were also included in the Fast Track 100 list, published in The Sunday Times.
Under the management of Wesley Lever, ME Construction formed a specialised works division to focus on projects with values ranging from £50k to £250k.
According to FRP, Me Construction was affected by reduced margins and an unsuccessful acquisition which subjected the business to significant liabilities. The management of the business was impacted when managing director Sean O’Connor took an extended period of leave following health issues.
23 jobs were lost after the collapse of the business
Directors tried to sell the business, but the company was placed into administration after they failed to find a bidder. After being placed into administration, all 23 employees were made redundant, and ME Construction ceased to trade.
“ME Construction was trading well and had an encouraging pipeline. But challenging circumstances for the leadership team meant that urgent investment was needed,” said joint administrator Nathan Jones.
“Without any viable transaction to secure the future of the business, trading has stopped, and we are moving towards a wind-down of its operations,” He added.
ME Construction is one of a number of construction companies that filed for insolvency in May. Atlas Building & Civil Engineering Limited, Ambivent Limited, SNM Pipelines Limited, Feerick Ltd, Oairo Alliance Limited, D&A Architectural Limited, Howard Russell Construction Limited, Harris Pye Power Services Limited, Provost Management Limited, Structal (UK) Limited have all filed for insolvency.
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