The company, incorporated in 2005, specialised in off-site volumetric design
Elements Europe has appointed Sam Birchall and Steve Absolom of Interpath as joint administrators.
The company primarily produced room modules and bathroom pods used in residential, student, and hotel developments.
Elements Europe was a frequent subcontractor
The firm’s modules and pods worked on several large projects, including in Hackney’s East Road Project and Birmingham’s Camp Hill Project.
It is these two projects that led to a loss for the firm, and that have brought it to its knees with a cash requirement that couldn’t be met.
Options were explored by the directors to sell the firm, gather investment, or refinance, but to no avail.
Sam Birchall, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “Sadly Elements Europe has not been immune to the headwinds facing the construction sector. Our intention is to pause work on the ongoing contracts at East Road and Camp Hill whilst we explore options to rescue all or parts of the Elements business.”
It is with regret that 141 of the Company’s 217 employees have been made redundant. 76 members of staff have been retained to support the Joint Administrators with their duties.
Steve Absolom, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “As a priority, we will be providing support to those employees who have been impacted by redundancy. We are also seeking buyers for the Company’s assets, and would invite interested parties to make contact with us as soon as possible.”
Sub-contractors hardest hit by insolvency
In a report in October last year, it was highlighted that not only is the construction industry currently the worst for company insolvencies according to government data, but sub-contractors within the industry are taking the hardest hits.
In the year to August 2024, 4,310 construction companies became insolvent, and over half of these cases were sub-contractors (2,514).
As a whole, this means that the construction industry accounts for 17.4% of all insolvencies.
At the time, Construction Products Association (CPA) economics director, Noble Francis, said: “Taking out monthly volatility, so far this year the number of firms going out of business continued to broadly flatline but at its highest levels since the financial crisis.
“The largest impacts of downturns in house building and rm&i, rises in labour, materials and financing costs plus project delays continued to be on specialist contractors.
“More than half of the construction firms that went out of business in the year to August were specialist sub-contractors, which are most of the industry, as major house builder and Tier 1 contractor business models are based on sub-contracting cost, activity and risk out to specialist contractors.
“Specialists are, however, smaller firms that are cash-flow reliant and more vulnerable to both sharp falls in demand and cost increases, skills shortages and project delays, as they are often on fixed-price contracts.”
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