Scots contractor opts for controlled closure.
Established and well-respected Scottish demolition contractor Forth Demolition has taken the bold decision to cease trading in a controlled closure.
Company employees were informed of the decision last week and will receive a full redundancy package. The company also reports that all business debts will be settled in full as part of the planned closure.
Speaking exclusively to the DemolitionNews, Forth Demolition’s Stephen McCann says that although the closure was not prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the likely fallout from the ongoing pandemic influenced the timing of the announcement.
“We’re a relatively small company. We only take on work that we’re able to do and margins are pretty tight. We have just come off the back of two jobs and I decided that the time was right,” McCann explains. “By closing now, I can pay off all that we owe, give the workers a decent redundancy package, and walk away with some money in my pocket. If I had held on for another few months, that might not have been the case. I wanted to go clean.”
McCann is a former regional chairman of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and has been with Forth Demolition for some 19 years. But he says there was no place for sentimentality in his decision to close the company.
“None of us know how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last or what economic impact it might ultimately have,” he concludes. “At times like this, you have to think with your head, not your heart.”
