Property slump claims housebuilder

A housebuilder with sites in Rugeley and Walsall has collapsed into administration after becoming the latest victim of the property slump.

But the jobs of more than 140 staff, including 10 at offices on Wolverhampton's Pendeford Business Park, may be saved by a rescue deal being set up.

The McInerney Group, based in Wigan, called in administrators from accountants KPMG yesterday.

The United Kingdom arm of Ireland's biggest housebuilder, the company has offices across the northern half of the UK. Six subsidiary businesses are also in administration.

It has 32 private housing sites under development as well as a number of social housing developments.

The administrators say they aim to transfer some of the private sites to a solvent entity within the group, Ludgate Hill Developments, to allow the building work to continue.

Ten sites will be transferred to Ludgate, including Maddocks Grange in Telford. Other sites, including Highgrove Place in Highgate Mews and Beacon Wood in Bloxwich Road, both in Walsall, and Armitage Road in Rugeley, will remain under KPMG.

Some 14 staff have been made redundant but KPMG aim to transfer the other 147 to Ludgate. The process is expected to take around two weeks.

Richard Heis, a partner at KPMG restructuring and joint administrator, said: "Our overriding objective is to ensure that work on the majority of the live private development sites is able to continue in order to maximise value in the interests of all the creditors.

"We are therefore delighted to have assisted in establishing the agreement between Ludgate Hill Developments and a major housebuilder to build out these sites.

"This should assist us in ensuring continuity as far as possible to the customers and suppliers alike."