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Administration · 13 February 2023

Tolent Construction

Main contractor · Gateshead · North East England · Part of Tolent

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What happened

TOLENT CONSTRUCTION LIMITED (company number 02450574), incorporated in 1989, entered administration on 13 February 2023. Its status at Companies House is now: administration.

Why it failed

Heavy losses on the Milburngate contract, a failed handover and disappointing asset sales left cash too tight, and shareholder funding and HMRC time to pay could not close the gap.

  • Main reason: Losses on contracts
  • Delays
  • Cash flow
  • Sale or investment failed
  • HMRC debts

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: RUSHPATH BUILDERS LIMITED.

Timeline

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

  1. 31 December 2021

    Last accounts filed were made up to this date

    6 months later

  2. 30 June 2022

    Last payment practices report ends: average 41 days to pay, 21% of invoices not paid to agreed terms

    8 months later

  3. 13 February 2023

    Administration started

AccountsPayment reportInsolvency

Before it failed

Key figures

Turnover in its last accounts, year to Dec 2021
£197.8m
Accounts at Companies House
Loss before tax, year to Dec 2021
£4.1m
Accounts at Companies House
Average days to pay suppliers, 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022
41 days
16% paid after 60 days, 21% not paid to agreed terms
Its last payment practices report
Owed to unsecured creditors (estimated), as at 13 February 2023
£44.7m
of which trade creditors £17.6m. HMRC owed £2.7m. a further £4.6m owed to its lenders. Expected return to unsecured creditors: none expected
Administrators' proposals
Staff when it failed, Administrators' proposals
365
Administrators' proposals

The last accounts filed were group accounts made up to 31 December 2021, 13 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

Tolent: three years of losses, one overrunning job, and 8 checks to protect your business

Tolent was one of the North East's best-known builders, founded in 1989 and turning over nearly £200 million a year. On 13 February 2023 it went into administration. 270 people lost their jobs that day, and its unsecured creditors, owed about £46.7 million, are not expected to get anything back.

Turnover in its last accounts
£195.5m

Turnover in 2021

Source: Joint Administrators' statement of proposals for Tolent Construction Limited and other Tolent companies, Interpath Advisory, filed at Companies House 13 April 2023

Staff when it failed
356

Staff when it failed; 270 made redundant on day one

Source: Joint Administrators' statement of proposals for Tolent Construction Limited and other Tolent companies, Interpath Advisory, filed at Companies House 13 April 2023

Owed to unsecured creditors
£46.7m

Source: Joint Administrators' statement of proposals for Tolent Construction Limited and other Tolent companies, Interpath Advisory, filed at Companies House 13 April 2023

Expected back for unsecured creditors
Nothing

Source: Joint Administrators' statement of proposals for Tolent Construction Limited and other Tolent companies, Interpath Advisory, filed at Companies House 13 April 2023

Read the full report

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