Birse slump leads to 25 redundancies

Birse Build’s Northampton office has closed, forcing 25 staff redundancies. The contractor has now turned its back on the Midlands and the South, citing a lack of contract wins. The workers will be offered jobs elsewhere in Birse.

Results for the six months to 31 October showed that Birse Build’s turnover had slumped from £100m to £60m. Tomorrow (Thursday) Birse is expected to reveal further losses when it announces its full year results.

A Birse spokesman blamed the closure of the Northampton office on the key markets in the Midlands and the South – traditionally commercial and industrial shed contracts – drying up.

In February, Birse Build’s Tunbridge Wells office was closed (CJ 25 February).

"Following the closure it was hoped that gains could be made by moving all the Midlands and Southern contracts through the Northampton office. However, the situation hasn’t improved," the spokesman said.

He added that Birse Build remained fully committed to the six remaining live contracts it has at Aylesbury, Eastleigh, Hatfield, Northampton, Portsmouth and Wycombe, all of which would be "completed as normal".

The contractor will now focus its efforts in the North by expanding operations from its Cheadle office and will concentrate particularly on education, where it has gained a stronghold.