50 jobs lost as West Bromwich building contractor goes into administration

Directors at Anglo Holt Construction Limited, in Birmingham Road, took the action after the firm suffered cashflow difficulties caused by substantial contract losses over the last 18 months.

And it was announced 52 of the company's 67 employees had been made redundant.

The remaining 15 members of staff have been retained to assist administrators and to see if any value can be generated from Anglo Holt's contract base.

Joint administrators Guy Mander and Diana Frangou, of Baker Tilly, have been appointed joint administrators of the firm.

They said the staff who had lost their jobs were now being assisted in making claims from the Redundancy Payments Offices.

Officials said the company's cashflow problems led to a working capital shortfall and resulted in an inability to meet supplier and sub-contractor payments.

Management took steps to suspend work on eight live contracts over the weekend.

Guy Mander, a restructuring and recovery partner at Baker Tilly, said: "The cashflow issues were such that the directors had little choice but to place the company in administration.

"We have appointed independent quantity surveyors to review the company's contract base.

"We are currently liaising with the various customers to seek value and the best overall position fir stakeholders on each contract.

"Regrettably we have had to make 52 staff redundant.

"Our specialist employee team has been assisting them both with making their claims from the Redundancy Payments Office and offering general support and advice."

The company was founded in 1971 and specialised in the design, construction and development of industrial and commercial buildings.

Alongside other projects it was responsible for the construction of the 63-bedroom Premier Inn development at Castlegate, in Dudley, back in 2013.

At its peak it employed around 100 people with an annual turnover in excess of £50 million.

Just last year it started work on a £12.5m Holiday Inn Express hotel converting shipping containers into bedrooms at the Royal Albert Dock in London.

It was one of scores of hotels across the UK the company completed, including another Holiday Inn Express on Coventry Road in Birmingham. The firm also worked closely with budget hotel chain Travelodge during its major expansion programme. That included a £12m 200-bedroom hotel at Birmingham Airport.

In 2011 the company celebrated its 40th anniversary with a ball at Hagley Hall, near Stourbridge.

The company was based at a head office on the corner of Roebuck Street and Birmingham Road, in West Bromwich - premises it built itself in 1989.