Rising costs of fixed price schemes and delayed jobs helped sink Birmingham M&E contractor, administrator says

Cashflow problems, the rising cost of fixed price contracts and delayed jobs all helped sink M&E contractor JS Wright & Co, administrators for the 130-year-old business have said.

Close to 150 jobs were lost when the Birmingham firm collapsed last month after first being set up in 1890 by plumber John Shilvock Wright.

JS Wright, which had offices in Birmingham, London and Bristol, employed 147 people at the time of its administration. In its last set of results, the firm saw turnover fall 11% to £42m in the year to April 2023 with pre-tax profit slumping from £3.1m to £510,000.

Sister firm Wright Maintenance, set up in 2019 and which carried out M&E work for landlords, managing agents, housing associations and care providers, also went under. It had a turnover of £1.3m in its last set of accounts.

In an update, administrator FRP Advisory said JS Wright & Co had been experiencing problems because of “cashflow pressure due to delayed receipts on a major project and retention payments and margin erosions across several projects”. It added the firm had also been hit by rising costs on fixed price jobs as well as several delayed schemes.

In a statement of affairs filed at Companies House, FRP said unsecured creditors were owed £11.5m but “it is currently estimated that there will not be sufficient funds available” to make a payment to them.

Preferential creditors, due £202,000 and who include employees owed wages and holiday pay, have been told they can expect back 14p in the pound. But HMRC, which is owed £259,000 in VAT and PAYE payments, has been told not to expect any of its missing money back.

Wright Maintenance, which had nine staff and was “heavily reliant on JSW for a material portion of its work pipeline”, owed unsecured creditors £145,000 who have been told by FRP not to expect any money back. But staff have been told they can expect to be repaid in full the £11,000 they are owed.