Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Shock as builder Cardy calls in administrators
Shockwaves are reverberating through the city’s building industry with news its biggest construction firm has filed for administration.
Doubt is now cast over large-scale developments in the district as word spreads that Canterbury-based Cardy has hit financial disaster.
Building work ground to a halt at numerous sites this week, including the 539-room student accommodation project opposite the historic city walls.
Some 220 jobs are thought to be at risk, and sub-contractors report fears that cash owed to them may go unpaid.
Cardy has declined to comment to the Gazette and had yet to release any official statement as we went to press, adding to mounting confusion.
The firm, founded in 1946, filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators on Monday, triggering widespread dismay.
Renowned city car dealer Barretts has two major projects ongoing with Cardy – including a scheme of 12 townhouses at Pound Lane behind the Jaguar showroom.
Barretts’ managing director Paul Barrett said: “It’s very sad because we have had a good working relationship with Cardy for many years and they have built showrooms for us.
“The homes are approaching half-way built but we are just going to have to see what can be salvaged out of the situation or whether a new contractor will have to be appointed to finish the work.
“We haven’t lost money ourselves as there were phased payments, but obviously the delay is a considerable inconvenience.”
Cardy’s biggest ongoing project in the city is the fivefloor student digs on Rhodaus Town, scheduled for completion by September next year.
To date, a partial framework is visible above the Cardy hoarding lining the ringroad, but workers have now downed tools.
Designed by award-winning architect Guy Hollaway, the block is to be run by an independent student accommodation company catering for both city universities.
Neither Guy Hollaway Ltd nor Canbury Holdings, the firm behind the scheme, were available for comment.
It is reported that Cardy had recently endured a strained relationship with many partner businesses, with some firms saying its troubles have lasted at least 18 months.
If true, the reports dispel any suggestion that Cardy’s demise is linked to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
One sub-contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, said his firm has worked with Cardy for more than 20 years.
He said: “It’s a shame. I know a lot of the lads and a lot of sub-contractors are reliant on their business. It’s terrible.”
Cardy’s fall comes despite boosting turnover by more than £25 million to £67.6 million in the year to March 2015, helped by contracts with Rolls-royce, BMW and Johnson and Johnson.
In its latest accounts, it said it had an order book worth £60 million.
Ella Brocklebank, co-chair of Kent Construction Focus Group, said its problems run deeper than any slowdown caused by uncertainty over the EU vote.
She said: “While it’s easy to lay the blame at Brexit’s door, in truth, the industry has remained fragile, never truly recovering from the aftermath of the 2008 recession, with margins so tightly squeezed amid a sea of unsustainable pricing.”
Cardy, which also has offices in Sandwich and Heathrow, has grown turnover by more than £60 million in the last 22 years.
It has held contracts with the University of Kent, Kent and Canterbury Hospital and Kent County Cricket Club, which it sponsors.
The firm is responsible for many striking buildings in and beyond the area, including the student development in St George’s Place, Barretts’ BMW dealership on Broad Oak Road and the Rocksalt restaurant, overlooking Folkestone Harbour.
Cardy’s forthcoming administration comes as output in the construction sector slumped in the run-up to the EU referendum, down 2.1% in May compared to a month earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Housing construction fell 3.2% over the same period, falling in every month this year apart from February.
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