It so often happens that one large loss making contract can bring a construction company to it's knees. And so it was with Gloucester Road. Turnover was never a problem in 1995. We even hit our best month in November 1995 at £2.344 Million. But Gloucester Road was hemorrhaging cash. Although our bank balance at the 3rd January 1996 was £460,000, this was a lot less than we were used to.
At the end of 1995 and into the new year, we were looking for investment or at the worst, a buyer. In January we brought in advisers to review if we were a "going concern". We had claims in o April n Gloucester Road and New Bond Street, but both clients were playing for time. And our failure to gain completion certificates (the clients again) for both jobs meant we also had cash tied up in bonds.
There is nothing so horrible as the pressure of not paying our Sub-Contractors, but this is what happened in February 1996 when the cash position was unbearable. By March we had called in Butcher Phillips as Administrators and on Friday 15th March we went into Administration. It was actually a big relief in the end. Most of the staff were made redundant on the Monday with no prospect of a buyer for the company. I was made redundant on the 29th March but attended the office all through April, mainly working on a Statement of Affairs.
It had been an amazing eight years, something I was very lucky to experience.
I finally left at the end of April. I was in no hurry to find another job. I took three months off, and how wonderful this time would be. I bought a computer from the administrators and learnt how to use one for the first time. It would stand me in good stead when I finally found my next job.
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