London subsidiary of Bowen is insolvent

THE BRITISH subsidiary of Bowen Construction is insolvent and under the control of high court-appointed administrators.

Bowen plc, the London-based subsidiary of the Irish construction group, suspended operations and laid off staff seven weeks ago.

The British high court recently appointed Alistair Beveridge and Anne O’Keeffe, partners with insolvency specialist Zolfo Cooper, as joint administrators to the business.

The administrators have confirmed that the company is insolvent and cannot meet its liabilities to suppliers and other creditors. Work has been halted on all its contracts.

Administrators are appointed under British law to insolvent or troubled companies. Their main role is to maximise returns for creditors.

The full extent of Bowen plc’s debts are not known as the company’s directors are not due to file a statement of affairs, detailing assets and liabilities, until next week at the earliest.

There are no secured creditors but is is understood that the Irish group has guaranteed some of its British subsidiary’s liabilities.

The administrators’ appointment has not affected any of the group’s operations in the Republic and its businesses here are continuing to trade.

In recent weeks, at least one creditor, London-based Duffy Contracting Services, sought to recover a debt from Bowen plc that was said to be in the region of £200,000.

Duffy filed a petition to wind up Bowen plc which was due to be heard this week. However, the appointment of administrators to the company would have halted this process.

Bowen plc’s directors include John Bowen, Don Brockie and Barry Crowley. Its most recent accounts show that it made a profit of £111,599 on a turnover of £22.3 million in 2009.

The company worked mainly on mid-sized jobs in London and southeast England. In recent years it completed work on a substantial office block close to the Old Bailey in central London, and on the Syon Park Hotel, a high-profile property near Kew Gardens.

Shortly before it laid its 29 staff off in May, the company appointed advisers to work on a restructuring programme for the business.

After the layoffs, it issued a statement saying it had been forced to halt work temporarily while it worked with its advisers to agree the best way forward.

Unconfirmed reports at the time suggested that part of its problems were rooted in the fact that a substantial client had failed to pay the company.

The Bowen Group is based in Cork and is in one of the bigger players in the construction industry in Ireland, with a turnover of about €300 million. Its clients include State agencies and companies such as the ESB, as well as local authorities and private sector organisations. Neither the group nor Bowen plc commented yesterday.

Zolfo Cooper is a US-headquartered multinational specialist in insolvency, corporate restructuring and corporate finance. It has offices in London and Manchester.