02 Mar 2023
News that a Harpenden-based contracting company has gone into liquidation will not have an impact on the rest of the business, it has been confirmed.
Jarvis Contracting, which dates back to 1905, announced to its 75 employees on Tuesday that the administrators had been called in before making them all redundant.
Jarvis Group and Jarvis Homes are unaffected by the administration.
A spokesperson for those two companies said: “Following the appointment of an administrator to Jarvis Contracting Ltd, the directors of Jarvis Homes Ltd and Jarvis Commercial Ltd would like to reassure all our suppliers, sub-contractors, purchasers and consultants that it is business as usual.
“Both Jarvis Homes Ltd and Jarvis Commercial Ltd are subsidiaries companies of Jarvis Group Ltd, but are completely independent from, and have no current projects with Jarvis Contracting Ltd.
“Jarvis Homes Ltd and Jarvis Commercial Ltd have been trading profitably for over the last 20 years and will continue to do so.
“In the next few months projects at Melbourne Mews Wheathampstead (28 units, where 24 units have been sold), Mill Green, Hatfield (nine houses, where six units have been sold) and Sauncey Wood Barns, (three units, two sold),
will generate significant sales receipts for the company.
“Going forward, Jarvis Homes Ltd have a strong pipeline of work including schemes in Kimpton, and St Ippolytts, Hitchin, numerous other sites within their ownership, together with a number of projects progressing through planning.
“Jarvis Homes Ltd has a strong balance sheet and full support of Jarvis Group Ltd, its shareholders and funders.”
Jarvis Contracting’s accounts for the year to April 30 2022 show a turnover of £43.8m generating a pre-tax loss of £2m.
Mike Peters, CEO of Jarvis Homes, said: “Jarvis Contracting Limited is now in administration and has stopped trading.
“Therefore, what happens next for Contracting and the control of that business is now in the hands of the administrators.
“Contracting, despite everyone’s considerable efforts, due to unprecedented industry conditions,
caused by CoVID, Brexit and the Ukrainian war, has been trading at a loss for the last two years and rather than stabilising these losses have continued to increase.
“The group has fully supported Contracting during these very difficult years, absorbing substantial losses, anticipating and giving every opportunity, that there would be a way of trading through these terrible conditions and back into a profitable business.
“However, with no real sign of these trading conditions improving and if anything, getting tougher, and the inability to secure new profitable work, it became clear Contracting were going to become insolvent and the ongoing accumulating losses were both unacceptable and unsustainable.”
Some of the 75 staff will be able to relocate elsewhere in the business, but unfortunately the options are limited.
Contracting worked on large residential projects in Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Hitchin, St Albans, Harpenden, Houghton Regis and Liddlington, and its main clients were all either Housing Associations or local authorities.
The administrator will endeavour to novate or sell the projects to others and in at least one case the project will be completed with the co-operation of Contracting personnel. In most cases, for now all site work has ceased.
