A construction firm run by two bosses who have previously carried out work for Wetherspoon and JD Sports has been wound up. Juma Construction Group’s Matthew Hoyes and Julian Kirkpatrick have a combined 40 years worth of experience in the industry, according to the company’s website.

But the business based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, has been voluntarily ended after a special resolution was passed and joint liquidators appointed. Craig Johns and Jason Elliott from business advisory, Cowgills, are overseeing the process, which involves selling off assets, paying off any creditors and dishing out any funds to those who have a share in the firm.

Other firms Juma Construction Group’s directors have worked for under previous employers include BT, Sports Direct and Revolution Bars, the company website states.

The company offered office fit outs, renovations, refurbishments, gas and civil engineering.

According to the business, this included the design and build of a training facility at John Leggott College in Scunthorpe and a four month long fit out of The Bridge Hotel for Ask Drinks Ltd.

Juma Construction Group and Cowgills have been approached for comment.

News about the company, published by The Gazette on Monday (June 8), comes after the latest figures showed output in Britain’s construction industry declined at its fastest rate since Covid last month.

Worries about the Iran war as well as political uncertainty weighed on demand for building work in May, with the S&P Global UK construction PMI showing a reading of 38.2 – a steep decline from 39.7 in April.

A reading above 50.0 indicates activity in the industry is increasing while anything below means it is contracting.

The latest score was the lowest since May 2020, while construction output has been in decline for about a year-and-a-half despite the Labour Government’s manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.

S&P Global’s survey found elevated uncertainty about the economic and political climate was dampening demand, while firms were grappling with rising energy, fuel and transportation costs.

Builders surveyed suggested project delays and pushing back big investment decisions, as well as general cutbacks to their customers’ budgets, had resulted in fewer opportunities for work in May.

Some also pointed to political uncertainty having an impact on demand conditions, after Sir Keir Starmer fought to stay on as Prime Minister amid calls from Labour MPs for his resignation.

Max Jones, Head of Construction at Lloyds, said earlier this month: “While ongoing uncertainty weighs on output, many firms are staying focused on current work and planning for future growth.”

He said companies were continuing to invest in skills to be ready for new opportunities linked to cleaner energy and growing areas of importance, such as defence.

Moores Furniture Group, a Wetherby-based company that has been supplying kitchens to housebuilders, the public sector, and affordable housing developers since 1947, has fallen into administration, citing “challenging trading conditions” as the primary reason for its downfall.

The firm, which employed more than 450 people, has appointed James Clark and Will Wright from Interpath as joint administrators. The administrators confirmed that they had sold the company’s customer list and certain other intellectual property assets to Wren Trade Kitchens Limited, a subsidiary of Wren Kitchens Ltd.

While 336 staff members have been retained to support the completion of some work, the administrators have made the difficult decision to make 124 employees redundant. They have pledged to provide support to those affected, including assistance with making claims from the Redundancy Payments Service.

Construction industry headwinds impact supply chain

Clark explained that the strong headwinds facing the UK construction industry continue to have a significant impact on companies throughout the supply chain.

Despite Moores Furniture Group’s efforts to cut costs and make “strong progress,” the company struggled with “challenging trading conditions” due to rising costs and low levels of housebuilding activity.

The firm had explored options for further investment or the sale of the company, but these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, according to Clark.

However, he noted that the sale of intellectual property to Wren Kitchens “provides an opportunity to minimise disruption for customers and suppliers, and which will enable Moores’ heritage in kitchen manufacturing to continue as part of the Wren family.”

Glimmer of hope

Wren Kitchens Ltd expressed its regret that Moores had entered into administration, stating, “Whilst the company was a competitor of ours, we believe it is in everyone’s interests to have a strong kitchen industry based here in the UK.”

Although Wren Kitchens had been in talks with Moores, they were unable to save the business. However, they have agreed to an exclusive option to provide affected customers with the ability to seamlessly transfer outstanding contracts to Wren Kitchens.

Wren Kitchens also revealed that their contract division had recently announced plans for a sales office in Harrogate. They have agreed with the administrator to explore opportunities “to provide alternative employment to a significant number of Moores sales, operations and internal support teams,” offering a glimmer of hope for those affected by the administration.