ISG staff vent frustration at firm’s collapse after weeks of uncertainty

ISG staff have voiced their sadness and frustration at the demise of the £2.2bn contractor following a series of loss-making jobs and called for industry-wide reform to prevent another major collapse.

The firm’s chief executive Zoe Price confirmed yesterday evening that the group was set to go into administration after the failure of a deal to sell the business to a South African businessman. 

The news came 11 weeks after ISG chairman Matt Roche wrote to staff promising them that the deal would be finalised “within days”.

ISG operations director Rick Gray described the firm’s collapse as “deeply saddening”, adding: “Our industry must change, low margin high risk is not the future of construction!”

He said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people who have reached out to me tonight to offer support and opportunities.

“What an amazing industry full of camaraderie in such challenging times! ISG is stacked full of talented people and it’s such a shame that legacy issues have dragged the business down.”

>> See also: Clients told to move quickly to find replacements for ISG, or risk sites being stalled for months

An IT project site team lead at the firm wrote on social media: “What a week, this time last week I was advised of my dream promotion IT operations manager at ISG. This week I go onto write about the company’s administration. Roller coaster or what?”

He added: “To say my mental health has taken a battering is an understatement, alas my focus as it always has been is the fantastic people, boy did ISG have them in abundance.”

ISG assistant planner Jodie Robinson described the firm’s collapse as a “sad day for the industry”, adding: “Absolutely heartbroken for all of my friends and colleagues at ISG. I have absolutely loved the last 4.5 years working with you all.”

>> See also: ISG’s collapse: a huge blow to construction that raises urgent and difficult questions

Scant information provided by the business about the status of its prospective sale during weeks of uncertainty has come in for sharp criticism, with one industry professional saying the “communication and management of the whole process has been absolutely disgusting”.

In an email sent to staff yesterday, Price admitted that some may have felt there had been a “lack of communication” but claimed that every update the firm had provided had been leaked to the press by a “very small minority”.

“[This] as not been helpful as we have worked to rescue ISG. And that is why we have been very cautious in the past couple of months,” she said.

Meanwhile, people across the industry have expressed their dismay at the firm’s sudden collapse and the expected loss of its approximately 3,000 employees.

Abigail Tester, who now works at Danny Sullivan Group as head of people and engagement, was made redundant from Buckingham Group following the firm’s collapse last year.

She said: “Those at ISG - I am thinking of you today. It will get better, and I know you need to find your way over the next few days, and weeks.”

Arcadis global head of projects James Saunders said: “Terrible news to hear that ISG has filed for administration. 

“Over the past 15 years I have been in industry, ISG have been consistently one of the most innovative and forward thinking construction companies, taking on some of the most challenging fit-out and refurbishment projects across the UK. 

“Thoughts to the clients, consultants, subbies and the tier 1 contractors in this market as they figure out how to pick up the pieces following the fall of this behemoth.”

One Arcadis commercial director who had worked at ISG until 2020 said he was “gutted” for staff facing redundancy and the “impending fallout of unpaid subbies”.

He said: “ISG, once a leading global Tier 1, with some of the most exciting and innovative people, working to secure the most cutting edge and challenging projects, reduced to administration.

“Many many reasons for this, but I doubt the industry will ever change.”

Matthew Bennett, managing director at innovation consultant Rethinking Construction, said yesterday’s announcement was an “awful way for all of its employees to find out”.

“It just goes to show how easily even well established main contractors can quickly get into difficulty. Yet another warning that the current industry model is simply unsustainable,” he said.

And Nathan Raven, business manager at Construction Resources Limited, expressed concern for the impact on the supply chain, adding: “The knock-on effect will be horrendous through absolutely no fault of their own. The system is broken, but I think we all know that.”