Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint provisional liquidators’ to Stewart & Shields Limited on 14th April 2023.
Stewart & Shields is a family business, based in Helensburgh, on the west coast of Scotland, set up by Jim Shields Snr and Alex Stewart in the 1950s. Jim Shields Jnr and grandsons Mark and Richard Shields owned and ran the business up to its closure.
The company’s portfolio includes social housing, local authority work, commercial construction and private and residential contracts. In recent years its has undertaken numerous Passivhaus projects.
Since the covid pandemic, however, Stewart & Shields has experienced cashflow challenges as a result of various factors including contract delays, the rising cost of raw materials and skills shortages.
Faced with intensifying cashflow pressures, the Shields family was left with no option but to seek the appointment of provisional liquidators, they said.
All 15 staff have been let go.
Blair Nimmo, chief executive of Interpath Advisory (the former KPMG restructuring business) and joint provisional liquidator, said: “The collapse of Stewart & Shields Limited is another indicator of the challenges and economic headwinds currently facing the Scottish construction sector. The directors fought hard to save this long-standing family-run business, but the construction industry has experienced several challenges over recent years, with rising raw material costs, supply chain disruption and labour challenges putting businesses under increased pressure.”
Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint provisional liquidator, added: “Our priority is to assist those members of staff who have been made redundant, providing them with the information and support they need to claim their statutory entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Office, as well as to support the owners, for whom this is also a very difficult time.”
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