Contractor says 70% of £17.6m penalty has been paid to CMA

Demolition and civils specialist Erith Holdings returned to profit last year as company revenue ticked up, the firm said in accounts filed at Companies House.

The company went back into the black for the year to September 2023 with a £5m profit from a £13.8m loss last time. Turnover was up 9% to £227m.

The firm was one of 10 penalised by the Competition and Markets Authority last year for breaking competition laws.

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Erith has paid out more than £4m under an EOT which began eight years ago

The Kent-based contractor was fined £17.6m, the largest amount, after being found guilty of bid-rigging and of making and receiving so-called compensation payments – which the CMA said involved designated ‘losers’ of contracts being compensated by the winner.

Erith said it paid out £8.6m of the fine during the year and further £4m after the year-end, meaning more than 70% of it has been paid, with the remaining £5m to be paid in instalments by 2027.

In a note accompanying the accounts, the firm added: “We have now established robust systems within the business rendering it impossible for any further infringements of competition law to occur.”

As well as the CMA fine, the firm has set aside £700,000 in provisions following an accident that resulted in a fatality at its premises in Kent. Erith Plant Services has been charged by the Health and Safety Executive with the case being heard this month.

Erith said it paid out £1.5m to 436 staff qualifying for a year-end Employee Ownership Trust bonus payment. The amount paid out under the EOT since it started eight years ago stands at £4.4m.

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