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Administrators appointed to Scottish modular housing firm Connect Modular and sister company Hope South West Limited.
Scottish modular housebuilder Connect Modular has entered administration, leading to the redundancy of 38 employees. Its sister company, Hope South West Limited, has also entered provisional liquidation, resulting in the loss of 10 jobs. Both companies were part of The Wee House Group, known for providing affordable modular housing across the UK.
FRP Advisory, acting as administrators, confirmed the closures in a statement: “Michelle Elliot and Callum Carmichael, partners with specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory, have been appointed as joint administrators of Connect Modular Limited on January 6. They have also been appointed as joint provisional liquidators to related company, Hope South West Limited, on January 7.”
The challenges faced by the businesses stemmed from increased operational costs and financial losses from past contracts, impacting cash flow. “Both companies have now ceased trading and unfortunately, all 48 employees have been made redundant (38 in respect of Connect Modular Limited and 10 in respect of Hope South West Limited). FRP is supporting them with applications for compensation to the Redundancy Payments Service,” FRP’s statement continued.
Michelle Elliot, partner at FRP Advisory, highlighted the impact of these challenges: “Connect Modular Limited and Hope South West Limited had built a strong reputation and track record in delivering high quality, affordable modular homes across Scotland. Unfortunately, following losses made on a number of historic contracts and rising operational costs, the businesses were facing significant cash flow pressure.”
She further explained: “Despite the best efforts of the director in exploring alternatives in recent weeks, the cash position deteriorated significantly placing unsustainable pressure on the business.”
Among their planned projects were 33 affordable homes in Cowlairs for West of Scotland Housing Association and eight homes in Rothesay for Fyne Homes. With both companies ceasing trading, the future of these developments remains uncertain.
FRP stated their immediate focus: “We will now focus on marketing the assets for sale and on providing every possible support to the staff for claims to the Redundancy Payments Office and accessing support agencies such as PACE.”
Elliot concluded: “Both companies have now ceased trading, and we are committed to providing comprehensive support to staff and engaging with relevant agencies during this challenging time.”
See: Connect Modular
