Subcontractors working for £180m-turnover contractor Haymills this week vented growing concern they might be left out of pocket despite its last-minute rescue by Vinci

As Building went to press, a deal with the French construction giant was being finalised but it was thought not to include Haymills’ London operation, which employs 125 people.

Its contracts in the capital include the £30m Bishop Challoner Catholic school in Tower Hamlets and the £13m Goldsmith conference centre in the City.

Fred Sexton, managing director of Sexton Demolition, claimed his firm had been owed £70,000 since March 2008 on the Bishop Challoner job and was seeking legal advice.

He said: “Haymills hasn’t answered our calls or emails. We’ll survive, but the whole thing has been completely unprofessional.”

A Haymills spokesperson declined to comment on the claim.

It looks like we’re going to get our fingers badly burned – unless the main contractor fairy comes down and pays us

Haymills subcontractor

Another subcontractor on a London job said: “It looks like we’re going to get our fingers badly burned – unless the main contractor fairy comes down and pays us.”

It is understood the deal with Vinci was tied up in little over a week. One source said Vinci was an expert at buying companies out of distressed situations. “It knows how to deal with administrators and make quick decisions.”

As reported by Building last week, fellow French company Bouygues was also in the frame but is understood to have pulled back following weeks of talks, having decided that Haymills was not the right corporate fit.

Haymills, which employs 700 staff and specialises in the commercial and residential markets in London and East Anglia, was forced to look for outside investment after its lender RBS froze its bank account last month.

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