All at the FIS were shocked and saddened to read the news yesterday that Astins had entered administration. Details of the events that led up to the news have been reported on SpecFinish here.
This is devastating news for all involved and our hearts go out to all of the families of the 209 employees and wider workforce that have been impacted. The statement issued by Astins describes a perfect storm of all of the issues that are currently impacting the construction sector in the UK, with specialists left carrying an unacceptable level of risk both from a contractual and financial perspective.
We have already sent information to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Intervention is required. Something has to be done to look at the credit crunch that is undermining investment and deepening our risk exposure – we need a credit guarantee scheme dedicated to construction. We need to review again the inadequate policies that are making no meaningful difference to abhorrent payment and contractual cultures and to revisit the idea of a Construction Credit Guarantee Scheme and Building Safety Fund to address legacy issues that will undermine progress.
First things first though, we are encouraging all employees of Astins to send us their contact details and appealing to any companies interested in recruiting some of the excellent people that were working at Astins to get in touch.
Details of how to exchange details are included on our JobSpot here
Iain McIlwee, CEO FIS