HE Simm & Son was set up in 1948 and employed 128 people
Project delays, a client going bust and losses on jobs in London have all combined to fell a Liverpool M&E firm that had been going since just after the Second World War.
HE Simm & Son was set up in 1948 and in its last set of results filed at Companies House posted a revenue of £118m in the 17 months to December 2023.
But in those accounts, the firm said it had been “significantly impacted by high inflationary pressures on fixed price contracts, whilst also experiencing performance issues on a number of legacy projects located in London”. This meant it racked up pre-tax losses of £10.3m during the period from a £900,000 pre-tax profit in the year to July 2022.
Yesterday the business announced that Forvis Mazars had been appointed administrator of the firm which employed 128 people.
In a statement, Simm’s chief executive Gareth Simm said: “Over the decades we have delivered countless landmark projects together not only in the North-west but all over the UK, including London. We are very proud of our reputation for excellence and quality and for always ensuring that our culture and values were at the heart of everything we did.
“Sadly, recent circumstances have placed enormous pressure on the business that we have been unable to withstand. These have included a combination of factors; failure of a key client; the loss of a number of projects; delays to major schemes; increasingly commercially challenging client behaviours and losses on London projects. Some of these challenges have been ongoing for a number of years.”
Joint administrator Richard Hough, who is also director of corporate restructuring at Forvis Mazars, said: “The company has encountered cash flow challenges, resulting predominantly from challenging market conditions. After careful consideration of the financial position, the directors of the company reached the difficult decision to place the company into administration.
“The administrators are seeking contact from parties who may have an interest in acquiring the assets of the company, including existing customer contracts.”
Forvis Mazras confirmed that all 128 staff have no lost their jobs with the firm saying it will be writing to creditors in the coming week.
As well as Liverpool, the firm had offices in London and Manchester.
Gareth Simm’s statement in full
“Since the company was founded in 1948, HE Simm has been built on the talent, hard work and loyalty of its people. Over the decades we have delivered countless landmark projects together not only in the North West but all over the UK, including London. We are very proud of our reputation for excellence and quality and for always ensuring that our culture and values were at the heart of everything we did.
“Sadly, recent circumstances have placed enormous pressure on the business that we have been unable to withstand. These have included a combination of factors; failure of a key client; the loss of a number of projects; delays to major schemes; increasingly commercially challenging client behaviours and losses on London projects. Some of these challenges have been ongoing for a number of years.
“As shareholders, and a family, we have fought very hard, and invested heavily over the last two years in an attempt to avoid today’s outcome, but in the end the harsh reality of the construction industry, the tight margins we operate at and the pressures as described, left us with no choice but to appoint administrators.
“The administrators will now take full control of the business to ensure the best possible outcome for our creditors.
“We would like to take this opportunity to heartfeltly thank our dedicated colleagues for their unwavering commitment to HE Simm over the years. It might sound cliche but genuinely, our family was bigger than the Simm family. To say that it will be missed is an understatement.
“We would also like to thank our valued customers and suppliers for their ongoing patience and support, many of whom did everything they could to help us avoid the position we now find ourselves in, for which we will always be eternally grateful.”
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