Failures in 2020
UK construction companies that went bust in 2020
- Failures in 2020
- 10
- In 2019
- 15
- Largest
- Styles & Wood
10 construction companies in our register failed in 2020, against 15 in 2019. Of these, 9 were administrations and 1 was a compulsory liquidation.
The largest was Styles & Wood, with turnover of £152m in its last accounts. 5 were main contractors, the most of any type of business.
Failures by month
The most in one month was 3, in February.
The biggest failures of 2020
Ranked by turnover in each company's last accounts before it failed, with the largest company in each group.
| # | Company | Failed | Last turnover | Staff | Owed to creditors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Styles & Wood | Feb 2020 | £152m | 344 | £54m |
| 2 | S&T(Uk) | Feb 2020 | £114m | 103 | £60m |
| 3 | Athena Civil Engineering | Jun 2020 | £37m | 17 | £4m |
| 4 | Central Building Contractors (Glasgow) | Apr 2020 | £36m | 165 | £7m |
| 5 | J A Ball | Sept 2020 | £36m | £2m | |
| 6 | Harry Fairclough (Construction) | Feb 2020 | £28m | 93 | |
| 7 | Construction Partnership UK | Apr 2020 | £23m | 91 | £11m |
| 8 | Coombs (Canterbury) | Nov 2020 | £16m | 66 | £4m |
| 9 | Procare Group | Jan 2020 | £14m | 75 | £2m |
Why they failed
The reasons given in the insolvency reports for the companies that failed in 2020.
- Cash flow100%
- Delays78%
- Clients not paying or failing56%
- Covid-1956%
- Losses on contracts44%
- Funding withdrawn22%
Share of the 9 failures (each group counted once) whose insolvency reports explain why the business failed. Most give several reasons, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Each failure's page shows its own reasons and links to the report.
By type of insolvency
- Administration9
- Compulsory liquidation1
By region
- North West England3
- South East England1
- East Midlands1
- South West England1
- Yorkshire and the Humber1
- Scotland1
- Greater London1
- East Anglia1
Where the company was based before it failed.
Every failure in 2020
| Company | Date |
|---|---|
| Coombs (Canterbury) | 27 Nov |
| J A Ball | 30 Sept |
| Whittington Facilities (Holdings) | 28 Jul |
| Athena Civil Engineering | 2 Jun |
| Central Building Contractors (Glasgow) | 29 Apr |
| Construction Partnership UK | 24 Apr |
| Styles & Wood | 28 Feb |
| S&T(Uk) | 17 Feb |
| Harry Fairclough (Construction) | 5 Feb |
| Procare Group | 28 Jan |
Other years
Our register covers larger UK construction companies (those filing full, group or medium-sized accounts) plus well-known failures, from Companies House and The Gazette. It doesn't include every insolvency: the Insolvency Service's official statistics count all construction company insolvencies, most of them small firms. Turnover comes from each company's last accounts and what was owed from the administrators' or liquidators' reports.