Workers down tools on £60m Terry Farrell-designed housing scheme in Shoreditch

Work on a £60m east London housing scheme has stalled after subcontractors walked off site saying they had not been paid.

The Eagle House development on City Road, Shoreditch, designed by Terry Farrell and Partners, is being developed by the UK subsidiary of the troubled Irish contractor McCabe Builders.

The scheme has had a chequered history with subcontractors also leaving last year on the same grounds.

One subcontractor said: “We’re owed a large amount and nobody has any money to pay it. The contractor is failing to respond to phone calls or letters. We have no idea when or if we’ll be paid.”

McCabe Builders UK was not available for comment.

We’re owed a large amount. We have no idea when or if we will be paid

Eagle House subcontractor

The contractor’s accounts were due to be filed at Companies House in May, but so far no results have been submitted.

The firm faces a fine for late submission.

The most recent accounts for its parent company, Leinster-based McCabe Builders, showed the firm had bank borrowings of €200m (£175m) in the year to 31 August 2008. It made a pre-tax loss of €12.9m (£11.3m) that year.

The company and John McCabe, its founder, had close ties to Anglo Irish Bank, which was nationalised in September after declaring losses of €12.7bn (£11.1m) for the 15 months to December 200. This was the largest loss in Irish corporate history.

Earlier this year McCabe sold half of his company to Western Gulf Advisory (WGA), a Swiss-based investment fund. This was part of a £300m strategic investment deal.

WGA, which is owned by the Indian entrepreneur Ahsan Ali Syed, was to inject working capital into the construction group and take on the company’s outstanding loans to Anglo Irish Bank. WGA also agreed to provide McCabe with £40m to complete UK projects.

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