Clugston Group

The Clugston Group was a privately owned business involved in construction and civil engineering, property development and logistics. The group was based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire in England. On 5 December 2019, the group and its construction businesses filed for administration, with debts of £64m.

Clugston Group
Private
IndustryConstruction
Founded1937
DefunctDecember 2019
HeadquartersScunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom
Key people
John Clugston (chairman)
Glynn Thomas (interim CEO)[1]
Revenuecirca £175 million p.a.
Number of employees
629[2]
Websitewww.clugston.co.uk

History

The company was founded by Leonard Clugston in 1937 in Lincolnshire, as Clugston Cawood. Initially, it pioneered the development and use of recycled blast furnace slag from Scunthorpe’s iron and steel plants. This was used in the construction of runways for the RAF in the Second World War, and led the company into civil engineering, road construction and the building of sea defences on the east coast.[3]

In June 2009, the then company CEO Stephen Martin went 'undercover' at the company for the television series of Channel 4, Undercover Boss.[4]

Martin described the experience as extremely positive, and implemented a number of new measures as a result.[4] In February 2017, Martin left to become director general of the Institute of Directors, and was replaced by Bob Vickers (formerly a director of Carillion Construction Services). Vickers resigned as CEO in June 2019; Glynn Thomas became interim CEO.[1]

Administration

The company filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators from KPMG on 5 December 2019,[5] for Clugston Group Ltd, Clugston Construction Ltd and Clugston Services Ltd.[6] The group reportedly collapsed owing over £40m (a figure later revised to £64m),[7] and was operating from over twenty five sites primarily across the Midlands and northern England.[8] Some 250 employees were reportedly set to lose their jobs immediately.[9]

Four hundred of Clugston's 629 strong workforce were employed in construction,[2] and, on 9 December, 150 were reported to have been made redundant.[6] By 7 January 2020, the redundancies total had grown to 280; fifteen staff working on three facilities management contracts had been transferred to new employers, while fifty one staff were assisting the administrators.[10]

The group's losses were blamed on problem energy from waste (EfW) contracts and an "acute cash flow issue" exacerbated by the June 2019 failure of a key subcontractor which resulted in "significant ransom positions from the supply chain".[7]

The company had grown through participation (in joint ventures with France's CNIM) in construction of EfW plants; EfW projects had also caused financial problems for other contractors in the United Kingdom, including Costain and Interserve.[11] CNIM took on sixty seven former employees of Clugston, who had been working on joint venture projects in the United Kingdom.[12]

Operations

The group was organised into five divisions:[13]

  • Construction
  • Facilities management
  • Logistics
  • Private Finance
  • Property

The administration of December 2019 mainly concerned Clugston's construction related operations.[8] Clugston Distribution Services was sold in January 2020, to Leicester based AJWG.[14] The Clugston Estates property business continued to trade until 3 February 2020, then also entered administration.[15]

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References
  1. "Clugston CEO moves on". The Construction Index. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  2. Aaron, Morby (6 December 2019). "Contractors rally to help Clugston staff facing the axe". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. "Profile: Steve Radcliffe". Yorkshire Post. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. Stephen Martin undercover at Clugston Group Archived 2012-07-07 at Archive.today
  5. Morby, Aaron (5 December 2019). "Clugston files for administration". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. "Administrators lay off 150 at Clugston". The Construction Index. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  7. Prior, Grant (6 February 2020). "Clugston went down owing supply chain £64m". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  8. Morby, Aaron (9 December 2019). "Clugston debt rumoured at over £40m". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. Laister, David (5 December 2019). "Clugston Construction collapses with hundreds of staff facing redundancy before Christmas". Grimsby Live. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  10. Morby, Aaron (7 January 2020). "Clugston job toll hits 280 as axe swings again". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. "Clugston falls into administration". The Construction Index. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  12. "Clugston staff taken on by French JV partner". The Construction Index. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  13. Clugston: Structure Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Morby, Aaron (28 January 2020). "Clugston administrators sell haulage business". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  15. "Appointment of Administrators". The Gazette. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.


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