Collapsed hotel developer hits John F Hunt for more than £5m

John F Hunt said a London hotel developer going under cost it more than £5m last year, the firm has revealed in its latest report and accounts.

The job is not named but is believed to be a scheme near Holborn Viaduct called City Temple Quarter.

Hunt was carrying out soft strip work at the site ahead of main demolition work before the developer on the job went into administration last January.

In a note accompanying the accounts, John F Hunt Group said: “While the administrators’ report indicates that a partial recovery may be available to unsecured creditors, subject to the approval of a revised planning application, no such recovery has been recognised at the balance sheet date.”

The £5.1m hit at its biggest business, John F Hunt Ltd, which specialises in demolition and civils work across London, meant pre-tax profit at the group fell from £7.8m to just £101,000 in the year to March last year. Turnover was up 8% to £193m with revenue from John F Hunt Ltd up 15% to £102m.

The firm warned that income for the current year would be down “due to delays to several large projects arising from planning-related matters”. Revenue for the year to March 2026 is expected to be around £140m.

But turnover for the following year is set to tick back up “as delayed projects progress”, the firm added.

In October 2024, John F Hunt Group was sold to its staff under an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) with the deal involving 10 companies within the group, including John F Hunt Ltd, as well as John F Hunt Regeneration and several plant hire companies.

Founder John Hall, who set up the business in 1982, retained the role of group chairman while all other John F Hunt Group directors remained. The latest accounts show the directors made a contribution to the EOT of £5.6m.

The firm’s power business was not included in the EOT and in its accounts, which it files separately, John F Hunt Power, which specialises in generator hire, saw turnover up 13% to £54m in the year to March 2025. But pre-tax profit was down 52% to £1.6m.