Cruden creditor prospects remain bleak
Only a fraction of the £6m that debtors owe the collapsed construction firm has been realised to date, and its administrators say the outlook for unsecured creditors owed £7.5m is “unclear”.
Warrington-based Cruden Construction collapsed last year with total debts of £19m as a result of “cashflow pressures due to losses on several contracts exacerbated by additional cost outlays due to Covid-19”, according to administrator KPMG.
Cruden’s most realistic prospect of repaying creditors is to claw back money it is owed by debtors, but so far only £6,300 has been recovered, according to KPMG’s latest report.
The report states that Cruden’s debtor ledger is its “main asset” but that the majority of debts owed to the company do not fall due for another 12 to 18 months.
In addition, a “significant element” of what is owed is unlikely to be recoverable because “the balance assumed the continued completion of several live contracts”, the report states.
Cruden had 12 live construction contracts at the time of its collapse, including a 100-person care village for developer Belong in Birkdale, and a 119-home scheme in Runcorn that Anwyl has been appointed to complete.
The contracts ranged in value from £1.5m and £13.5m, KPMG said.
In the weeks leading up to KPMG’s appointment, the company’s directors attempted to find a buyer for the group but failed to do so.
