Welconstruct staff rescued in ISIS Projects takeover
Oct 16 2009 by Jon Griffin, Birmingham Post
Staff at Birmingham fit-out specialist Welconstruct have been plucked from the dole queue less than a month after its collapse in a deal which promises to secure £12 million worth of business.
London-based ISIS Projects has moved in to take over Welconstruct operations in Birmingham and London, securing the jobs of up to 18 employees thrown out of work following the firm’s recent collapse.
The deal saves 80 per cent of Welconstruct’s fit-out/refurbishment project staff, secures projects totalling more than 250,000 sq ft and heralds anticipated revenues for next year of £12 million from the Birmingham office.
ISIS Projects, a subsidiary of AIM-listed Real Office Group PLC, has set up a new office at the Longbridge Innovation Centre, within a few miles of Welconstruct’s former home in Rubery.
Administrators from KPMG were called into the Birmingham-based firm a month ago following its crash amid mounting debts, leaving a trail of misery for plumbers, electricians and other workers across the West Midlands owed tens of thousands of pounds.
Roger Smee, chairman of Real Office Group, said of the new deal: “The Birmingham market is a tough nut to crack. The new team provides an excellent platform for growth in the region.
“We believe that the mix of extensive local contacts and proven track record will secure a strong pipeline of further business going forwards. We anticipate the Birmingham office’s 2010 revenues to be in excess of £12 million.”
Scott Cable, chief executive of ISIS, said: “We’re proud of the fact that we’ve been able to secure jobs for these talented individuals in what remains a challenging market. We will be investing a seven-figure sum into this office launch, which is testament to our commitment to the region.
“Our goal is to use our 30 years of experience in the sector and our corporate strength to build a successful office that will offer expanded opportunities for skilled construction professionals and specialist sub-contractors in the region. This will be a Birmingham business, staffed by Midlands people, employing Midlands tradesmen. I felt we had to step in quickly and take on staff made redundant, otherwise a good team would be fractured.
“The fit-out and construction arm of the company was a fairly small part of the group – other parts of the Welconstruct group did not fit our business model.
“I would hope that the Birmingham team could grow fairly quickly; I would like to see us double our staffing levels.”
The ISIS deal secures a number of projects, including an 80,000 sq ft office building refurbishment for Staffordshire County Council in Oxford and a major infrastructure refurbishment for Shell Pensions Trust in Milton Keynes.
ISIS is a UK commercial fit-out and refurbishment specialist that has been an industry leader since 1979, delivering projects for a range of organisations from multi-national companies through to privately-owned businesses.
