Rise and fall of Carillion |
July 1999 |
Carillion demerged from Tarmac |
Jan 2001 |
John McDonough takes helm as chief executive with support services growth plan |
Feb 2006 |
Acquisition of Mowlem for £350m |
April 2007 |
Richard Adam appointed to board as finance director. |
Feb 2008 |
Acquisition of Alfred McAlpine for £565m |
Dec 2008 |
Pension valuation. |
Dec 2009 |
Richard Howson appointed to board as executive director. |
Mar 2010 |
2008 pension valuation 15-month deadline. |
Sept 2010 |
Richard Howson appointed chief operating officer, remaining on the board |
Oct 2010 |
2008 pension valuation agreed. |
April 2011 |
Acquisition of green services firm Eaga for £298m |
June 2011 |
Philip Green appointed to board as senior non-executive director. |
Dec 2011 |
Pension valuation. |
Jan 2012 |
McDonough retires. Richard Howson appointed chief executive. |
Mar 2013 |
2011 pension valuation 15-month deadline. |
Dec 2013 |
Pension valuation.Alison Horner appointed to board as non-executive director. |
May 2014 |
Philip Green appointed chairman. |
June 2014 |
2011 pension valuation agreed. |
July 2014 |
Carillion reveals merger talks with Balfour Beatty. But bid to becomes UK’s biggest contractor comes to nothing |
Dec 2014 |
2013 pension valuation agreed. |
July 2015 |
Keith Cochrane appointed to board as Senior Independent non-executive director. |
Dec 2016 |
Richard Adam retired as finance director. |
2017 |
|
1 Jan |
Zafar Khan appointed to board as finance director. |
1 Mar |
2016 Annual Report and Accounts signed and published.Richard Adam sells entire existing shareholding for £534,000. |
March–15 April |
Emma Mercer returned to UK as finance director of Construction Services and brought to the attention of Richard Howson and Zafar Khan “some issues with which she was not comfortable”. |
8 May |
Richard Adam’s long-term incentive plan awards for 2014 vested. He sell the total amount for £242,000.21 |
May |
The board conducts a review of accounting treatment for receivables following Ms Mercer’s concerns. This was reviewed by KPMG. The review concludes that assets had been misclassified but there had been no misstatement of revenue. Acted as a trigger for wider review of contract positions. |
7 June |
The board holds a “lessons learned” exercise which considered cultural, managerial and operational shortcomings. |
8 June |
The board considers a presentation on a possible equity issue. |
9 June |
Final dividend for 2016 paid worth £55m. |
4–5 July |
The chairman, and board the following day, were informed that their brokers were not able to underwrite the proposed equity issue and were advised that a trading update should be made on 10 July. Philip Green remains hopeful for a “positive and upbeat” announcement to the market. |
9 July |
Richard Howson steps down as chief executive. Replaced by Keith Cochrane as interim chief executive. |
10 July |
Carillion announces £845m contract provision and comprehensive review of business and capital structure. |
12 July |
Carillion’s share value fell 70% from 10 July.27 |
14 July |
EY appointed to support its strategic review with a focus on cost reduction and cash collection. HSBC appointed as new broker. |
August |
Board identifies a need for further short term committed bank facilities. |
3 Sept |
Zafar Khan “spooked” the board with a financial update. |
11 Sept |
Zafar Khan sacked as finance director and Emma Mercer appointed as his replacement. New non-executive directors appointed and transformation officer seconded in from EY. |
29 Sept |
Half-year results included a further £200m profit write down. |
24 Oct |
Deferral of pension deficit contributions agreed, releasing £100m unsecured and £40m secured new bank finance. |
17 Nov |
Third profit warning issued, alongside announcement that the company was heading towards a breach of its debt covenants. |
Early Dec |
Changed assumptions in weekly cashflow materially reduce the company’s short-term cashflow forecasts. |
11 Dec |
Kiltearn Partners, the largest shareholder in Carillion, halves its stake. |
22 Dec |
Cashflow forecast delivered to finance creditors shows it would have less than £20m in cash by March 2018. As a result, it was unable to make further drawings under its £100m unsecured facility without further waivers being granted by each of them. |
Late Dec |
New lenders inform Carillion that a further waiver would not be given unless an approach was made to Government. |
31 Dec |
Carillion submits a formal request for support to Government. |
2018 |
|
3 Jan |
FCA notifies Carillion that it has commenced an investigation into the timeliness of announcements made by the company between 7 December 2016 and 10 July 2017. |
4 Jan |
The Company meets Government officials to discuss status of restructuring efforts and the need for short and long-term funding. |
9 Jan |
Board meet with HMRC to explore the possibility of deferred payment to in respect of tax liabilities, which were otherwise due in January, February, March and April 2018. The outcome was inconclusive. |
12 Jan |
Carillion pays £6.4m to a series of advisors and lawyers, including KPMG (£78,000), FTI Consulting (£1m), EY (£2.5m), Slaughter and May (£1.2m). |
13 Jan |
Carillion chief sends a letter to Cabinet Office making a final request of £160m, including an immediate £10m. |
14 Jan |
Cabinet Office informs the company that it is not be willing to provide such support. The board concludes that the company is insolvent. |
15 Jan |
Directors petition for the compulsory winding up on the grounds Carillion is unable to pay its debts. Official Receiver appointed as liquidator, with PwC appointed as special managers to assist with the liquidation.Government makes £150 m available to support the liquidation. |
16 Jan |
Business Secretary Greg Clark writes to the Insolvency Service and the Official Receiver asking them to fast-track their investigation into the causes of Carillion’s failure and the conduct of the directors. |
18 Jan |
The Pension Regulator launches an anti-avoidance investigation into Carillion’s funding of their pension schemes. |