Iran war helped send London contractor under, administrators say

A company set up at the end of 2013 went into administration after jobs stalled and inflation ramped up with the Iran war proving the final straw for its survival.

Curo Construction specialised in the London refurbishment and fit out sector but had plans to move into the industrial sector with jobs including data centres.

The firm, which at one stage had 140 staff, had moved into a new office in the City and was targeting revenue to £200m.

But in its last set of accounts, the company saw income fall a third to £108m in the year to September 2024 with pre-tax profit slumping 65% to £1.1m. Management accounts for the first five months of 2026 show revenue was just £29m.

A report by administrators Antony Batty, which was appointed in June, said: “Throughout 2025 and early 2026 Curo Construction won numerous projects that were either delayed or in some instances postponed indefinitely.

“Overheads were heavily cut in 2025 and early 2026 however ongoing delayed starts to projects, increased material inflation and then the start of the Iran war led to losses that could not be sustained or managed whilst in the current economic client with projects delayed or withdrawn.”

Administrators said they have not yet received a report outlining the company’s estimated financial position – known as a statement of affairs – from its directors and so had provided an estimate at the time of their appointment on 17 June.

“The reason for the delay is that two critical employees who had familiarity and access to the accounting system are now fully employed elsewhere and [our] agent is seeking to enlist their assistance in this regards,” it added.

But the administrators have estimated unsecured creditors are owed £21.2m, with trade creditors owed £19.6m of this amount. Unsecured creditors have been told not to expect any money back. HMRC has said it is owed £6m.

All 135 employees were made redundant in May and are owed £861,000 in wages and holiday pay, the report says.

The report also said that insolvency expert Ashwells had asked former employees to help it provide login details to access a software system “which contains key records relating to retentions, contracts and other project information necessary to progress recoveries”.

It added: “To date, Ashwells has not been provided with the login credentials required to access the platform. Steps are now being taken to obtain these details from one of the former employees to enable access to the system.”