A tale of two very different collapses: what Carillion (still) and Jerram Falkus tell us

By Dave Rogers2026-02-26T07:00:00

Events more than a dozen years apart, show how fraught the building game remains for many, writes Dave Rogers

On the face of it, the collapse of a 140-year-old building contractor and the news Carillion signed up for a job with a 0% profit margin would not appear to have too much in common.

One seemed to be an act of rank stupidity and the other seemed to be a victim of the rather well-worn phrase of late, that being the “wider challenges facing the construction industry”.

Did Carillion mean to go bust? No. Did Jerram Falkus mean to go bust? No. Both events might be more than 12 years apart but the theme is the same: contractors keep going bust.

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