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Death of CEO had “significant impact”

MacwhirterlogocopyUK: The death of MacWhirter CEO Tony MacWhirter is said to have had “a significant impact” on the Cardiff-based contracting business which went into administration at the beginning of July.

According to a report on the Insider Media website, the company’s administrator Deloitte expect to repay secured and preferential creditors in full. However, unsecured creditors, owed a combined £3.05m, are set to miss out with Deloitte estimating a shortfall of £2.9m.

The death in January of Tony MacWhirter is described as having “a significant impact on the work that the company could deliver”.

It experienced a sharp downturn in gross margin on two large installation jobs in Bristol and Southampton, and in June 2015 the business was notified by one of its major customers of a substantial liquidated damages claim as a result of delays and refused to pay about £300,000 owed to the company.

Related stories:

Tony MacWhirter – passing of a legend – January 27, 2015
UK: Tony MacWhirter, a hugely influential figure in the UK air conditioning and refrigeration industry over the last 30 years, passed away last week. Read more…

MacWhirters in administration – July 7, 2015
UK: Long-established air conditioning and refrigeration contractor MacWhirter Limited has gone into administration. Read more…

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