Roofing Giant Avonside Still in Liquidation Limbo After Four Years

FOUR YEARS after its dramatic collapse, one of the UK’s biggest roofing firms is still stuck in liquidation limbo — and there’s no clear end in sight.

Avonside Roofing, once a major player in the construction industry with 37 branches and 350 employees, went into administration in September 2022. But despite years of efforts, administrators are still battling to recover money — with most of it likely lost.

So, what went wrong?

The company was found to have serious flaws in its accounting system, leading to overbilling and inaccurate financial records. That created cash flow problems and uncertain margins and profitability.

When Avonside approached its bank, NatWest, for a further extension to its loan facility of £3.5 million in an effort to stay afloat, the bank refused — because the company’s operational and forecast numbers couldn’t be trusted.

Liquidation Limbo

Since then, administrators Begbies Traynor have tried to claw back what they can to pay outstanding creditors. In previous updates, Begbies Traynor revealed it had appointed solicitors to examine debts from Avonside’s two biggest debtors after they disputed the amounts. Avonside said the two firms owed it around £2m and £1.1m.

As many former Avonside customers are disputing their bills, some are only now raising issues as old contracts come to a close. The administrators say the process “continues to be plagued by counter claims, some of which are only just being notified by the debtors as the original contractual period comes to an end under the relevant contract”.

So far, less than £400,000 has been recovered.

Industry Unpaid

Now, administrators are warning that chasing down the rest of the outstanding monies owed to Avonside may soon cost more than it’s worth and have made a 100% bad debt provision in their latest update.

This means that the huge sums Avonside left owed across the UK roofing industry will remain unpaid:

• Unsecured creditors throughout the industry, reported as owed £17.3 million at the time of Avonside’s collapse, are likely to get nothing
• NatWest is expected to lose £8 million
• HMRC is owed £4.2 million, though some may be recovered

In its final full year of trading there were signs the company was in trouble as Avonside’s revenue dropped by a third to £48 million in 2020, ending in a £1.7 million loss after making a profit the year before.

Now, with legal battles, unpaid debts, and very little hope of recovering more for creditors, Avonside’s story serves as a cautionary tale to the industry, showing even the biggest names are not unimpeachable.

>> Read more about Avonside in the news