South West construction firm enters liquidation

A 161-year-old construction firm has announced that it has ceased trading and is preparing to go into liquidation.

Henry W Pollard and Sons Ltd has revealed that it has stopped work on all its sites across the South West. The company was reportedly in profit before the coronavirus pandemic, boasting revenue of £24.1 million in its recent accounts. However, the administration of an important client in 2019 reportedly left the company more than £700,000 out of pocket.

As a result, the firm's most recently filed accounts for the year ending 31 March 2020 showed the company owed its creditors £5.4 million.

After the company ceased trading this week, advisors from accountants PKF Francis Clark emailed suppliers and stakeholders to confirm that the company had ceased trading. Commenting on the news, Lucinda Coleman, partner and head of business recovery at PKF Francis Clark, stated that the advisors would begin looking into the company's options for the future.

"Henry W Pollard & Sons Limited has sadly ceased trading and the directors are taking steps to place the company into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

"We are assisting the directors in this process but are not seeking to be appointed as liquidators. Creditors are currently being contacted and liquidators will be appointed in due course."

Sites that have been affected by the company's news include the former Royal Navy site in Mount Wise in Plymouth, where Pollard was constructing the 73-apartment Teesra House. So far the company has invested more than £35 million into the phased development, although it is yet to indicate how it will move forward following Pollard's announcement.

Pollard was founded in 1860 and was a family-owned business until a management buyout in 1997. The company opened its Plymouth office in 2015 and now employs around 50 people.

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