Warrington-based construction firm Cruden Group has called in administrators and around 100 employees have been made redundant.

Howard Smith and David Costley-Wood were appointed joint administrators
of Cruden Group Limited, Cruden Construction Limited and Cruden Property
Services Limited on 31 July 2020.

The group, which employed a total of 126 people, operated
within the construction and property services sectors predominantly across the
North West of England but suffered losses on a number of contracts. It was also
hit by additional costs caused by the covid-19 pandemic, due to contract
delays, forcing the directors to place the company into administration.

Following KPMG’s decision to cut 100 jobs, the remaining
staff are being retained to support the wind down of the business. Agents have
been appointed to sell Cruden’s construction and maintenance contracts,
alongside other tangible assets including a freehold property.

Howard Smith, associate partner at KPMG and joint
administrator, said: “While trading had been challenging for some time, the
impact of covid-19 was the final straw. Discussions to sell the business did
not progress, leaving no option but to close.

“Our priority over the days ahead is to support those
members of staff who have been affected by redundancy, providing them with any
assistance they need.”

Cruden Group, based near Warrington, is not to be confused with the Cruden Group of companies in Scotland, which is a separate business headed by Cruden Holdings Limited, and which includes Cruden Investments, Cruden Homes, Cruden Building and Hart Builders.

Cruden Group in Scotland released a statement following the
collapse of its namesake south of the border announcing that it is “very secure
financially”, with a “strong” forward order book in all divisions.