The handing down of almost £60 million in fines to 10 members of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors back in March was merely the beginning.
Four months on, and the fallout from the bid-rigging scandal continues to creep across the demolition landscape like pestilence. And, according to a report from Building magazine, at least one of the 10 will have the CAN monkey on their back until 2027.
The magazine is reporting that the company hit with the biggest fine following the Competition and Market Authority’s probe says it has agreed to settle up with the final payment of its penalty due by 2027.
The Kent-based contractor was fined £17.6million after being found guilty of bid-rigging and of making and receiving so-called compensation payments – which the CMA said involved designated ‘losers’ of contracts being compensated by the winner.
At the time the accounts were signed off at the end of last month, Erith said it had paid £8.6million of the CMA fine with the remainder due to be settled in instalments over the coming four years.
This news comes in the same week that another of the “CMA 10” has looked to shake off the taint of the investigation with a strategic change of name.
Cantillon has been renamed as Morrisroe Demolition, three years after being bought by Morrisroe Group.
Morrisroe founder and chief executive Brian Morrisroe said the rebranding would present a clearer message to the market about the company and the services it delivered.
“Our demolition business increasingly represents us in the early procurement stages, communicating our unique value proposition to our clients,” he said.
But, as Construction News points out, two former Cantillon managing directors – Michael Cantillon and Paul Cluskey – are among the four individuals who have been disqualified from being company directors for specified periods, for their role in cover-bidding arrangements.
However, Cluskey was given permission by the High Court in May to continue as a director of the firm, subject to conditions.
And, as if all that were not enough to ensure that the CMA investigation remained the “topic du jour” in demolition circles for some time to come, it is now possible to read the entire 176-page CMA report (you can get a copy here).
It makes for fascinating reading. There are tales of handwritten notebooks containing details of money switching from one demolition company to another; details of major demolition firms so desperate for work that they were prepared to pay their rivals to step aside; and back-biting and duplicity among the companies involved. In addition, the report shows the sheer scale of the collusion.
