Harry Fairclough owes £7m to creditors
Administrators for the contractor’s holding company are looking to claw back £7m owed to creditors by selling off assets including the firm’s Warrington headquarters.
The amount includes £4m of intercompany debt owed to the Harry Fairclough Construction, Group and New Build entities, according to the latest report from administrator Smith & Williamson, which was appointed to the group in February.
Smith & Williamson said in the report it anticipates full reimbursement for secured and preferential creditors, and a “small dividend” for unsecured creditors.
Consultancy JLL has been instructed to sell the company’s former offices on Howley Lane in Warrington, with the sale expected to raise around £850,000.
Plant and office equipment, with a book value of almost £60,000, is expected to realise £5,000.
The lender Natwest, listed by the administrators as a secured creditor, is owed just over £100,000.
The company ceased trading in February with staff, listed as ‘preferential creditors’, owed a combined £190,000 in wages, holiday pay and pensions.
The administrators predict that debts owed to Natwest and Harry Fairclough employees will be paid through the sale of the firm’s offices.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not certain when that sale will complete.
The total amount owed to employees is £1.7m, according to a list of creditors published by the administrator, but only the aforementioned £190,000 is listed as being owed to preferential creditors.
That list also breaks down the amounts owned to other companies within the group:
- Harry Fairclough Construction – £2m
- Harry Fairclough Group – £1.9m
- Harry Fairclough New Build – £980,000
Harry Fairclough also owes a combined £623,000 in tax to HM Revenue & Customs.
So far, £112,000 has been realised through the sale of a business vehicle and money owed to the company by third parties.
The firm called in administrators after two winding up petitions were lodged against its construction arm by electrical firm Eric Johnson’s of Northwich and roofing contractor Helix.
