FM specialist Fountains goes down with loss of 450 jobs

Grant Prior 11 years ago
Share

Council outsourcing specialist Fountains has been placed in administration with the loss of 450 jobs.

Most of the assets of the firm have now been bought by facilities management specialist OCS in a move which has saved 1,570 jobs.

The dramatic events are the latest in a turbulent few years for Fountains which was formerly a subsidiary of Connaught but survived the contractor’s crash in 2010.

Administrators said 153 of the job losses were in Norwich, 139 in Liverpool,52 in Rochford, Essex, 42 in Cannock, Staffordshire, 47 in Uxbridge, west London, 10 on the Isle of Wight and eight in Victoria, London.

The Norwich workers were summoned to a meeting at midday yesterday to be told their contract would not be transferring to OCS as part of the sale.

Tony Nygate, spokesman for the administrators, said: “We are pleased to have concluded the sale of the business to OCS Group, preserving more than 1,570 jobs.

“A sale of Fountains Group was the best option to secure the future of the business, which has been exposed to the difficult economic climate.

“Today’s announcement enables the business to move forward confidently and on a secure financial footing.”

Martin Gammon, Managing Director of OCS Group UK, said: “This is great news for everyone at OCS and a clear demonstration of our intention to further develop our strong position as a leading player in the UK FM market.

“By adding the Fountains brand and customer base to OCS, we will broaden our horticulture service offering to customers, whilst facilitating synergy with existing clients.”

Latest news

Costain dropped from £1.3bn A66 road job

National Highways pulls Costain off TransPennine upgrade and demands its £1bn A12 widening now shared as a JV
14 hours ago

Laing O’Rourke plans to cut 200 staff jobs

Dartford head office to see bulk of job cuts
1 day ago

SES Services restructures senior team

New MD Rob Clifford to head four new divisions at M&E specialist
15 hours ago

Galliford Try ranks top in May contracts league

Kier holds pole position for highest value of work won over last 12 months
15 hours ago

£800m NEPO construction framework winners

BAM, B&K, Caddick, Esh and Morgan Sindall secure places for first time
15 hours ago

Manchester Uni reboots 3,300-bed campus plan

Initial £7m demolition package out to tender ahead of planning submission
15 hours ago

Subcontractors wanted across Derbyshire

Register now to meet big name buyers at latest Constructionline event
15 hours ago

House builder Lane End owes £12m to suppliers

Administrators probing claims by creditors about company transactions prior to failure
2 days ago

£500m Suffolk construction framework winners

Fourteen contractors and seven M&E specialists secure spots on East of England framework
2 days ago

Illegal cartel whistleblower reward raised to £250,000

Competition watchdog hikes rewards to flush out more construction bid rigging activity
2 days ago

McLaren wins £28m East London health centre job

New three-storey health centre to be built in Hornchurch
2 days ago

Balfour sells telecoms division to Obelisk

Irish infrastructure firm continues expansion plans with Balfour acquisition
2 days ago

Blackburn M65 £20m junction 5 revamp to go-ahead

Balfour Beatty to be confirmed this week to start mobilising in November for 2025 start
2 days ago

Unfit planning system means 4,700-year wait for onshore wind

Call for urgent planning reform for even a chance to meet net zero and housing ambitions
2 days ago

Commercial work boosts construction new orders

Buyers report inflation easing to its weakest for 32 months
2 days ago

Mace, T&T and Atkins secure place on MoD framework

JV wins provide technical services on £5bn defence optimisation programme
2 days ago

Enabling works start on £200m Cambridge station

Murphy starts site preparation ahead of main contractor award next month
3 days ago

Industry aims to be almost diesel-free by 2035

Big players agree first steps to eliminate diesel from most sites
3 days ago

Weston Homes plans £50m East London scheme

Land deal for 147 homes at Town Quay Wharf in Barking
3 days ago

Lee Marley Brickwork hires Countryside regional FD

Matt Sheehan joins from house builder's partnerships arm
3 days ago

Demolition deal awarded on Chancery Lane refurb

General Demolition Ltd lands demolition and enabling works package
3 days ago

Contractors no longer lagging on digital transformation

Construction shrugs-off image as late adopter of technology
3 days ago

Work stops on MAC education job

MAC-Interiors seeks protection from creditors as subbies walk away from Birmingham site
4 days ago

HS2 labour supply firm posts loss despite revenue jump

Hercules Site Services confident about future prospects despite HS2 slow down
4 days ago

Graham to lead UPP push for next generation green campuses

Student campus developer strikes deal with Architype to design and retrofit next generation net zero student halls
4 days ago

NG Bailey appoints Sellafield chief as NED

Martin Chown joins M&E contractor main board
4 days ago

EN:Procure wants firms for £700m new-build homes deal

Regional social housing consortium Efficiency North to renew house building partners
4 days ago

£470m tunnel plan for Scotland’s landslip-prone A83

Scottish Government plans 1-mile long debris flow shelter to protect vehicles from falling rocks
4 days ago

Developer dumps Henry Construction from London tower job

Growing list of subcontractors and suppliers complain they have not been paid
7 days ago

HS2 construction shake-up sees main contractor changes

Align to take over responsibility for parts of the route previously under the control of EKFB
7 days ago

Contractor services