J. Tomlinson Ltd: Hundreds made redundant as Nottingham building contractor enters administration
Building firm failed to find fresh investment as “majority” of staff made redundant
Hundreds of staff have been made redundant at a Nottingham building contractor after it entered administration.
J. Tomlinson Ltd, which was founded in Beeston in the 1950s and employed more than 400 people, said it had struggled to attract fresh investment and was “battling hyperinflation”.
In a statement, the company said long-term social care contracts which were “priced pre-Covid” had caused financial difficulties.
In its latest accounts to September 30, 2021, J. Tomlinson reported a turnover of £106.2m, with a loss of £616,000, which was down on the previous year’s loss of £741,000.
The firm has regional offices across the north and midlands in Bulwell, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton Coldfield, Derby, Wigan, Sheffield, Doncaster and Wakefield, with its head office on Lilac Grove in Beeston, near Boots’ headquarters.
Notable projects included a £1m redevelopment of the National Justice Museum on High Pavement in 2017, the £3.7m Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue base on London Road in 2016, a £4.5m redevelopment of Nottingham University’s Portland Building in 2018 and the £2.5m Dunelm branch on Queen’s Road in 2016.
‘Tragic’
CEO Mark Davis said the group’s board made the decision “with a heavy heart”.
In a statement, he added: “We have many very long service colleagues who have spent a good portion of their lives supporting our business, along with their family and friends.
“We hoped we would end their journey with a bright future for the next generation, sadly we have run out of time.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the JTL family for their proactive attitude to our customers, to each other, and the supply chain who have supported us over a long period of trading and especially post-COVID and the impact this outcome will have on them, their business, and their employees.
“We have employees with 30 years’ time invested and customers lasting 15 to 20 years, which is incredible and tragic.”
Raj Mittal and Nathan Jones of FRP Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators.
The advisory firm said J. Tomlinson Ltd has ceased trading and employed approximately 400 staff, of which “the majority” have been made redundant.
“Despite its scale and the success achieved across a number of its divisions, the severe impact of Covid and recent inflationary pressures meant that J. Tomlinson was not in a financial position to continue trading,” Mr Mittal said. “So we have had to make the difficult decision to cease operations.
“We’re now assessing options on the next steps and have started our engagement with clients and creditors regarding ongoing projects and liabilities.
“We are providing support for affected staff in making applications to the Redundancy Payments Service.”