Construction machinery supplier Adastra Access has collapsed, with the loss of 38 jobs.
The company, which had an office in Glasgow and recorded a turnover of £5.4m for 2021 in its latest published accounts, appointed administrators this week and ceased trading.
Adastra describes itself on its website as “one of the largest in the UK [….] suppliers of pole-climbing work platforms, suspended cradles and specialist access systems”.
Its latest accounts show it made a pre-tax profit of £770,000 in 2021, albeit after a loss of a similar scale the previous year.
However, his cash reserves of £86,165 at the end of 2021, when he was also owed £1.7m, are now dwarfed by the £11m he owes creditors, including £5m to “group companies”.
Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden of Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators of Adastra Access Ltd on 20 June 2023.
Interpath said the company, whose West Midlands depot closed at the end of last year, had faced “significant operational, health and safety and financial challenges, leading to trading losses and pressure significant cash flow”.
A “recent” cash injection by the company’s shareholder had failed to halt the financial deterioration of the company, which was ultimately “no longer considered viable”, Interpath said.
“The company has now ceased trading and as such regrets that the administrators have made 38 staff redundant, with two retained in the short term to assist the administrators.”
Nimmo said the collapse was indicative of the economic climate in which contractors were currently operating.
“The directors fought hard to save this business, but ultimately it was impossible to mitigate the impacts of labor shortages, rising costs and delays to client projects.”
Some 42 construction companies went into administration in May, setting a grim record as the highest number since Construction news began publishing monthly Creditsafe data in January 2020.
