Subcontractors and suppliers are set to miss out on £10.8m following the collapse of a major contractor.
More than 70 former employees who submitted claims totalling £2m are also expected to be out of pocket, according to Blenheim House’s administrators.
Documents released by administrators at Evelyn Partners on 20 January revealed they expect to raise £5.9m for Blenheim’s preferential creditors.
The administrators expect to make £1.3m selling off Blenheim House’s buildings, and £330,000 by selling off its vehicles and plant.
On top of that, the administrators recovered £1.6m from Blenheim House’s bank account, and expect to receive around £3m from Blenheim House’s debtors.
But the administrators expect there to be nothing left for the unsecured creditors, including the supply chain and the 72 former employees.
Blenheim House, which was based in Surrey, went under in July after tabling its first pre-tax loss in nearly 30 years of trading, in the year to 30 April 2023.
Although it increased turnover from £67.8m to £86.5m that year, the firm made a pre-tax loss of £137,000.
The contractor blamed the loss on the impact of Covid and the war in Ukraine. It filed for administration a week after being served a winding-up petition by drylining and fit-out subcontractor Radius Construction.
Blenheim House specialised in refurbishment and fit-out projects in London and the South East. At the time of its collapse, it was working on projects including 25 Moorgate, a 6,700 square metre office development near the Bank of England, and a mixed-use scheme on the site of a former sweet factory in Haringey, north London.
In September, Blenheim House’s directors blamed a £3.6m legal claim for its demise. The claim came from the client on a central London office renovation and new-build scheme called Marylebone House.
Blenheim House had racked up losses of around £11.7m on three problem jobs, including on Marylebone House, at the time of its demise, the directors added.
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Joshua Stein