More than 100 jobs go as firm that worked on the facade of Birmingham’s Selfridges building folds

Birmingham - Selfridges

Source: Baris Group

Cladding specialist Baris Group, which worked on the facade of Birmingham’s Selfridges building, has fallen into administration with more than 100 jobs lost.

The company, based in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire, specialised in cladding, curtain walling, windows, internal partitions and linings, and operated nationwide. It worked on the cladding of the Selfridges building in Birmingham, as well as the 36-storey Leeds Plaza building.

More recently the firm worked on the £50m Liverpool central library project as well as £35m research centre at the University of Bristol.

FRP Advisory, which was appointed administrator on 5 February, confirmed that three companies have been placed in administration: Baris Group - the holding company; Baris Facades and Linings - the main contracting firm; and Quality in Components (QIC) - the manufacturing arm of the group.

Overall the firms employed 154 staff, and the administrator said as no buyer had merged for Baris Facades and Linings the business has been closed with all 97 staff at made redundant.

FRP Advisory said 39 staff at QIC had also lost their jobs, with a core group of employees remaining to run the business as the administrator sought buyers for all or parts of the business.

Baris reported turnover of £22m in the year to 31 January 2012, up from £17m the previous year, with a pre-tax profit of £478k, down 50% on the previous year.

At the time the directors warned of margin pressures and said the “economic climate has resulted in challenges to the timing of cash flow with main contractors continuing to extend and delay payments further”.

The administrator said that the firms had been placed in administration “following a sharp deterioration in recent trading conditions”.

Nathan Jones FRP Advisory director and FRP Advisory partners Chris Stirland partner and Phil Armstrong have appointed administrators.

Chris Stirland, joint administrator to Baris and partner at FRP Advisory, said: “Since our appointment as joint administrators, we have been assessing the viability of the operating companies at Baris, both Baris Facades and Linings, and QIC, to continue to trade whilst seeking buyers for all or parts of the businesses.

“Regrettably with no buyer emerging for Baris Facades and Linings, all staff at that business have now been made redundant after a period of consultation.

“We have retained a core team of staff at QIC to enable it to continue to trade. We have received expressions of interest in QIC’s business and assets and we are progressing this interest. We will now seek to establish whether it will be possible to sell the business and assets of QIC as a going concern.”

Baris worked on the cladding of the Selfridges building in Birmingham, as well as the 36-storey Leeds Plaza building.