London/Edinburgh — The collapse of British services group Carillion started to hurt thousands of small contractors on Tuesday, with some laying off workers after the rapid demise of a company that was winning state contracts as recently as November. Rudi Klein, head of Britain’s Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, estimated that Carillion had left a trail of £1.2bn in unpaid bills to thousands of small subcontractors. The 200-year-old company, swamped by debt and pension liabilities and losing cash, went into liquidation on Monday, threatening suppliers, merchants and big banks. The government was forced to guarantee the provision of public services from school meals to road projects. Examples of private companies that could be hit included a small Northern Irish engineering contractor owed £150,000 and a concrete frame manufacturer in northwest England owed £2m, Klein said. Flora-tec, a corporate horticulture company based in Cambridgeshire, eastern England, said it was owed...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.