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Administration · 10 July 2023

J. Tomlinson

Civil engineering · Beeston · East Midlands

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What happened

J. TOMLINSON LIMITED (company number 03168455), incorporated in 1996, entered administration on 10 July 2023. Its status at Companies House is now: liquidation.

Why it failed

Cash flow pressure from overdue retentions, disputed payments, inflation on fixed-price contracts, loss-making projects and a lost adjudication went unfunded after investors and lenders declined to provide funds.

  • Main reason: Clients not paying or failing
  • Cash flow
  • Cost inflation
  • Losses on contracts
  • Legal claims
  • HMRC debts
  • Funding withdrawn
  • Sale or investment failed
  • Covid-19

Our summary of the reasons given in the administrators' proposals. These record the administrators' and directors' account of what happened.

An administrator, a licensed insolvency practitioner, takes control of the company to try to rescue it, sell the business or get a better result for creditors than a liquidation.

Previously known as: J TOMLINSON (MAINTENANCE) LIMITED.

Timeline

The last accounts and payment report before the failure, then what happened, with the time between each.

  1. 30 September 2021

    Last accounts filed were made up to this date

    22 months later

  2. 10 July 2023

    Administration started

    2 years later

  3. 7 July 2025

    Administration ended

  4. 7 July 2025

    Creditors' voluntary liquidation started (shareholders resolved to wind up)

AccountsPayment reportInsolvency

Before it failed

Key figures

Turnover in its last accounts, year to Sept 2021
£106.2m
Accounts at Companies House
Loss before tax, year to Sept 2021
£657k
Accounts at Companies House
Staff, year to Sept 2021
460
Accounts at Companies House
Net assets, year to Sept 2021
£5.7m
Accounts at Companies House
Owed to suppliers and subcontractors (estimated), as at 25 August 2023
£17.2m
HMRC owed £5.4m. a further £52k owed to its lenders. Expected return to unsecured creditors: none expected
Administrators' proposals (trade creditors)

The last accounts filed were full accounts made up to 30 September 2021, 21 months before it went into administration.

The full filing history, including any late filings, charges and director changes, is on Companies House.

Lessons learned report

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In the news

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