Squibb’s “missing millions”

Squibb Group’s liquidators say they have had “significant difficulty” finding millions of pounds worth of plant and other assets the firm said it owned before it went under.

According to Construction News, liquidators Jonathan Thielmann and David Standish from Interpath said Squibb Group valued its plant and machinery at around £2.5 million when it filed for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in October 2023.

At that time, Squibb also estimated that it owned scrap metal with a book value of around £200,000, office equipment with a book value of approximately £32,000, motor vehicles with a book value of approximately £264,000 and fixtures and fittings with a book value of approximately £24,000.

But the liquidators said they have had “significant difficulty identifying and realising [Squibb’s] assets”.

They said they had so far only found plant and machinery belonging to Squibb with a market value of around £167,000, which they sold for around £100,000.

The liquidators also said they understood that no scrap metal, vehicles, office equipment, or fixtures and fittings had been found at Squibb’s premises when the liquidation process began.

“The fate of these assets are being investigated by the joint liquidators,” Interpath said in its report.

Squibb Group was one of 10 National Federation of Demolition Contractors member companies found guilty in a Competition and Markets Authority probe into collusion, bid-rigging and cover pricing that resulted in fines of more than £60 million in March 2023.

Read more here.