Cashflow crisis halts roadworks

Resurfacing work stopped after Wrekin went into adminstration

Major roadworks have been halted on a dual carriageway in Staffordshire after a construction firm announced it was going into administration.

Shropshire-based Wrekin Construction went into administration on Tuesday.

It is one of two firms that provide almost all of Staffordshire County Council's highways services.

Resurfacing work on the A34 at Darlaston and work on a crossroads in Silverdale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, have temporarily stopped, the council said.

The council said it had contingency plans in place to work with other contractors and would "have all partially-built schemes up and running again as quickly as possible".

'Creditor pressure'

It said the sites had been made secure and traffic management schemes were in place.

Shropshire County Council and Telford & Wrekin Council said they did not have any outstanding contracts with Wrekin.

Up to 600 jobs are at risk at the company, which has headquarters in Shifnal, Shropshire.

The firm said it blamed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its predicament because the bank would not extend credit to cover cashflow problems.

RBS said Wrekin was unsustainable due to "creditor pressure".

Wrekin, which also has bases in Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Cheshire, said it had millions of pounds worth of orders.

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