Jobs go at engineering consultancy

More than 20 jobs have been axed following the appointment of administrators at an East Anglia-based engineering consultancy.

However, the administrators - from regional business rescue and insolvency specialist McTear Williams & Wood - are still aiming to sell the business as a going concern, which could the remaining jobs.Administrators were appointed at Millard Consulting Group, which is based in Norwich and has offices in Ipswich, Coventry, Sevenoaks and Slough, last Friday.

The firm, which provides a wide range of civil, structural and environmental engineering services, has been trading for more than 20 years and was listed among the top 80 fee earners in the country in a ranking compiled by the New Civil Engineer publication.In a statement, the administrators said the group's companies had been profitable over the years, with turnover having peaked at £7million in 2007.

However, following the downturn in the economy, and in the construction industry in particular, turnover had since halved and trading losses had mounted in the last two years to more than £1million.“The administrators are working with the directors of all five companies in the group to sell the businesses as going concerns,” the statement added.Joint administrator Andrew McTear said: “The level of interest already shown in the group is encouraging.“We are looking to conclude sales of the businesses before Christmas to try to minimise the uncertainty for staff as soon as possible.“At its peak the group employed 147 people but this had reduced to 65 prior to our appointment. Regrettably we have had to make 23 redundancies but we hope this action will help secure employment for the remaining staff.”

15 December 2009
East Anglian Daily Times