Civil engineering firm Glenevin, which in recent years has helped to construct full fibre broadband networks for a number of operators across the United Kingdom (e.g. CityFibre, Voneus, Openreach etc.), has sadly just become one of the latest digital infrastructure builders to fall into administration.
Established in 2013, the Livingston-based business was a well-known multi-utility infrastructure development and maintenance business operating nationally, but predominately in Scotland. It employed 45 employees, and in the year ending August 2022 had annual turnover of c. £40 million.
However, all does not appear to have been going well for Glenevin this year, which ISPreview understands appointed both Gareth Harris and Paul Dounis of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP as Joint Administrators of Glenevin Limited and its subsidiary GCL Hire Limited on Friday 30th August 2024.
According to RSM UK, the decision to appoint Administrators was made after a “material deterioration in market conditions led to funding being withdrawn for many of the pipeline contracts“, ultimately leaving the “company unviable“.
Unfortunately, despite concerted efforts in a short space of time, it was ultimately found to be “not possible to find a buyer for the business” and it has therefore been “closed down with all employees made redundant.”
Gareth Harris, Partner at RSM and Joint Administrator, said:
“This has been a very fast-moving situation but due to market circumstances outside their control, and without a viable solution the Directors have had no choice but to shut the business. Employees have been paid up to the end of the month, but sadly all have been made redundant on appointment.”
ISPreview has been investigating the situation around Glenevin since the early summer, when we first began to receive reports that the contractor had downed tools on their deployment with Voneus. Back then a spokesperson for Voneus informed us that: “The builds that we contracted with Glenevin are either complete or close to completion.” But the wider UK situation appears to have been more complex.
Network operators and, by extension, any civil engineering firms they use are currently under a lot of pressure from rising costs (build, leases etc.), competition from rivals (e.g. overbuild, take-up) and the challenge of raising fresh investment during a period of high interest rates. Quite a few operators have already restructured or scaled-back their build plans, which has fostered a rise in consolidation and redundancies.
RSM was advised by James Davison and Victoria Procter at DLA Piper.