Bowie supply chain not expected to get £1.7m owed

The administrators of Bowie Construction have warned unsecured creditors “it is not anticipated” that they will recover any money owed to them.

In their latest progress report, Frank Wessely and Jo Leach from Quantuma said 101 claims totalling £1.7m of an estimated £4.5m total were received from unsecured creditors by December 2025.

HMRC – a secondary preferential creditor – is owed £300,000.

Lloyds Bank, a secured creditor, received £286,000 under its fixed charge but a further floating‑charge distribution is considered unlikely.

Preferential claims relating to unpaid holiday pay and wage arrears were estimated at £1,410. Thirty-six employee claims have been submitted to the Redundancy Payments Service.

Last May, Construction News reported that 12 former members of staff were awarded payouts by an employment tribunal on the basis that Bowie did not hold a formal consultation process.

Cash awards in such cases are paid out by the taxpayer-funded Redundancy Payments Service rather than the former company.

Bowie filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators in April 2024. Before the Linton-based groundworks specialist collapsed, it turned over £14.5m and made a pre-tax loss of £996,830 in its final set of accounts, which covered 2022.

The joint administrators were appointed in May 2024. Creditors approved a 12-month extension in May 2025.

Following the previously reported pre-pack disposal of the business’s property and assets, the joint administrators said they do not expect further asset sales.

The company’s records disclosed an outstanding loan made to Bowie Holdings Ltd, its parent company, which was dissolved on 24 December 2024 with no assets.

The joint administrators noted that investigations were delayed due to difficulties in obtaining and accessing all of the company’s electronic books and records. 

“It is hoped that these matters will be concluded in the next review period and an update will then be provided to creditors,” the report said.

As of 19 December 2024, the administrators’ fees totalled £100,000. They have requested to draw an extra £50,000 plus expenses and VAT to cover additional work.