Administrators from Evelyn Partners which took control in July of the £87m turnover business revealed they hoped to be able to return around 10p in the pound to the 552 unsecured creditors.

This includes nearly £2m owed to around 80 former staff at the business.

Administrators said they were hopeful of some recoveries from three live projects at the time of the administration.

They said that after the impact of Covid, the firm further experienced difficulties on three large, complex office design and build projects in central London.

These were Holbein Place, Marylebone House, and Greycoat Place where difficulties stemmed from tendered designs which were not complete, omissions in the tender, and client delays.

These trading difficulties caused a trading loss across all three projects
of nearly £12m.

Finally, Marylebone House issued a £3.6m claim for damages, which the directors believed tarnished the company’s reputation, preventing them from securing the through-put of work they would have expected.

Cash flow problems then hit the three significant projects under construction at 25 Moorgate, Chocolate Factory, and Barge House.

As the company became unable to pay its debts, a winding up petition was filed against the firm leading to its collapse.