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Rooney goes bust as creditor blockades HQ
10:38 25 May 2005
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An unpaid creditor has blockaded the site of Dudley-based civils contractor Rooney Construction after the company went into administration last week owing thousands of pounds.
John Simpson, the owner of Birtley-based John Simpson Civil, was arrested last week by Northumbria Police and cautioned after he blocked off the entrance to the site on Dudley Lane after claiming that he is owed £55,000 by the company.
Simpson, who warned that if the money was not paid, then his company wouldn’t make a profit for the next two or three years, said he was owed money from Rooney for a housing development contract in Northumberland. He is now considering taking legal action.
PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) has been called in as administrator and has made 36 of the company’s 45 staff redundant.
The company has been trading at a loss for some time, having not been able to collect due debts. Seven public and private sector clients are in the process of redistributing their contracts to other firms. CJ understands that the contracts were not lucrative enough to sell the business as a whole and that the firm will be wound up.
Rooney, which has a 100% subsidiary company called Hannah Construction, is owned by Charles Wandless, who took control following a management buyout in 2001. Early signs of a financial problem showed in the abbreviated accounts for Hannah Construction for the period ended June 2003, which revealed that the company had £7,866 in assets after owing £753,245 to creditors.
No further company information is available, while its latest accounts are nearly a month overdue.
Nobody at Rooney was available for comment and all of Wandless’s contact numbers are ex-directory.
Ian Green, joint administrator at PwC, said: “Following our review of the business and contact with the main customers, it has become clear that there is no realistic prospect of saving the business as a going concern.
“The company has struggled to collect debts owed by certain customers and has been loss-making for some time. Thirty-six staff have been made redundant and the remainder have been retained to wind down the business over the next few days.
“Clearly this is extremely disappointing news for all stakeholders. Any interested parties are advised to contact us as soon as possible,” he said.
John Simpson, the owner of Birtley-based John Simpson Civil, was arrested last week by Northumbria Police and cautioned after he blocked off the entrance to the site on Dudley Lane after claiming that he is owed £55,000 by the company.
Simpson, who warned that if the money was not paid, then his company wouldn’t make a profit for the next two or three years, said he was owed money from Rooney for a housing development contract in Northumberland. He is now considering taking legal action.
PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) has been called in as administrator and has made 36 of the company’s 45 staff redundant.
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The company has been trading at a loss for some time, having not been able to collect due debts. Seven public and private sector clients are in the process of redistributing their contracts to other firms. CJ understands that the contracts were not lucrative enough to sell the business as a whole and that the firm will be wound up.
Rooney, which has a 100% subsidiary company called Hannah Construction, is owned by Charles Wandless, who took control following a management buyout in 2001. Early signs of a financial problem showed in the abbreviated accounts for Hannah Construction for the period ended June 2003, which revealed that the company had £7,866 in assets after owing £753,245 to creditors.
No further company information is available, while its latest accounts are nearly a month overdue.
Nobody at Rooney was available for comment and all of Wandless’s contact numbers are ex-directory.
Ian Green, joint administrator at PwC, said: “Following our review of the business and contact with the main customers, it has become clear that there is no realistic prospect of saving the business as a going concern.
“The company has struggled to collect debts owed by certain customers and has been loss-making for some time. Thirty-six staff have been made redundant and the remainder have been retained to wind down the business over the next few days.
“Clearly this is extremely disappointing news for all stakeholders. Any interested parties are advised to contact us as soon as possible,” he said.
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