Squibb Group has applied to enter administration after 75 years of trading.
The family-owned demolition specialist, which employs 180 staff and is based in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, lodged the application just before the end of business on Friday last week.
The application creates a moratorium during which no legal action by creditors or any other parties can be taken against the company without leave of the court.
The company had been served a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which was due to be ruled on this morning (22 November).
However, a High Court judge adjourned the winding-up hearing until 6 December, after the administration application is heard in the Insolvency and Companies List court in London on 4 December.
Under insolvency law, firms with an outstanding winding-up petition against them must make a court application if they wish to enter administration.
Construction News understands the application was made after plans for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – under which creditors could have agreed a long-term payment plan – fell through.
Squibb reported a £274,000 pre-tax profit from £32m revenue in its last published accounts, for the year ending 31 January 2022. At that time the company owed £26.2m to creditors but was owed £18.7m by debtors and had other assets worth £18.1m, including £35,423 of cash.
The company has extended its 2022/23 accounting year by six months and was only due to file its next financial accounts by 30 April 2024.
The company is run by managing director Leslie Squibb, the great-grandson of company founder Harry Squibb, who joined the firm in 1987. His father, Leslie Snr, was the chair of the company until his death in 2020.
In March the company was one of 10 companies fined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for breaching competition law via cover bidding arrangements.
Squibb was fined £2m but in August last year launched legal action against the CMA, pointing out that it was only involved in “a small number of infringements” and saying the calculation of the fine sum was incorrect.
CN approached Squibb for comment.
Comments are closed.