When Rok's messianic chief executive Garvis Snook told the Stock Market this morning that the credit crunch would knock £12m off its bottom line, some were quick to mutter "I told you so" under their breath.

The company's business model has always divided opinion; does a network of sub-contracted tradesmen under one skillfully branded umbrella add up to a sound business?

The believers point to its top-line - who's to argue with a billion-pound business?

The non-believers say the model will come undone and were no doubt feeling a bit smug this morning. 

Some in the City have admitted to"seeing the light" in recent years and Snook himself is PR-savvy enough to admit that he is a bit like Marmite.

The man himself says Rok is simply suffering ahead of the curve due to the small-scale nature of its projects. "You can turn the tap off on these deals more quickly," he says.

He adds: "Basically the lights were turned out right across the UK in October. It happened the same week that the government announced it would recapitalise the banks."

He's a little hazy on the connection between the two but said the economy "stopped functioning in the way it had done." It's potentially nasty news for contractors further back in the curve.

And what of the 50% plunge in Rok's share price today? (See right)

He gives a good answer but is not entirely convincing when he says: "I turned my computer screen off."

Topics