Creditors lose out from McGill collapse as only £185k paid out

McGill, which provided construction and facilities management services, first went into administration in January 2019. Local businessman Graeme Carling later bought the assets, but the company failed again three years later. After weeks of speculation, it entered administration in August 2022 with the loss of around 100 jobs.

Administrators Leonard Curtis were tasked with liquidating McGill Facilities Management Ltd. Its final report shows they raised £734,500 in total:

• £235,500 from the sale of vehicles
• £425,600 from debts owed to the business
• £36,500 from the fire and security arm, sold in a pre-pack deal (now operating as SPG Integrated)
• plus smaller amounts from bank interest and tool sales.

The administration costs came to £544,600, including £325,700 paid to Leonard Curtis and further agents’ fees, along with a £4,200 charge for financed vehicles. That left just £185,689 for creditors.

All of this went to employees classed as preferential creditors.

The administrators wrote: “The only category of claims which have preferential status are those of employees in respect of wages, accrued holiday pay and certain pension contributions.

“During the period under review, a final proof of debt form has been received from the Redundancy Payments Office detailing a preferential claim of £115,393.

“In addition to this, there were employee residual claims totalling £98,824… resulting in total preferential claims of £214,217.

“On August 19 2025, a distribution totalling £185,688, equating to approximately 86.7p/£ on admitted claims… was paid.”

Other creditors will receive nothing. HMRC had lodged a claim for £1,373,000 (£184,200 VAT and £1,189,000 PAYE), while Bank of Scotland sought £588,900 under a bond and floating charge. More than 100 unsecured creditors submitted claims worth £3,988,000.

The administrators’ report concludes: “There are insufficient asset realisations to allow any further dividends to be made to any class of creditors.”

Industry advocate Yosof Ewing said the McGill case is further evidence of the need for urgent legislative reform to better protect specialist contractors.

Mr Ewing, who represents parties in adjudication disputes across the UK through his Adjudicate.co.uk company, is speaking at next week’s Scottish Construction Summit on the topic of ‘The Commercial Model’.

“It’s desperately sad for those left unpaid,” he told Scottish Construction Now, which is hosting the event in Glasgow. “Stories like McGill’s are a stark reminder of why businesses must protect themselves by asking for deposits, insisting on fair terms, and acting fast the moment a payment is late.”

Mr Ewing added: “We’ve had two clients recently lose very significant sums to insolvency, with one tragically following their debtor into insolvency as a direct result, who waited too long to chase payment. 

“But this is bigger than individual cases. We urgently need reform of the Construction Act, a ban on retentions, and US-style anti-trust laws to act as a deterrent. Specialist contractors, who are the backbone of our industry, are too often the ones left carrying the heaviest burden when firms collapse. Levelling the playing field isn’t optional; it’s a necessity if we want a construction industry that survives for future generations.”

Tickets for the Scottish Construction Summit, delivered by Scottish Construction Now, are available here.