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Company in shock as bank pulls plug
jenny.chapman@cambridge-news.co.uk
Royal Bank of Scotland has pulled the plug on Haymills, the 100-year-old construction company responsible for a string of award-winning buildings in Cambridge.
The firm, which has offices in Huntingdon and Stowmarket, employs 700 people, half in this area, and has a turnover of £180 million.
Paul Kirkwood, business development manager for Haymills in this region, said: “Last week our bank froze payments even though we were £3 million within the agreed facility, a move which forced us into discussions with other parties, which are still ongoing.
“We were all absolutely shocked and have been in a whirlwind ever since. The administrators, PricewaterhouseCooper, have come in, but administration is still the worst-case scenario.
“We are getting a lot of support from MPs and local sources, especially as RBS is 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer and has been putting out adverts about helping SMEs through the hard times.
“We are an excellent and viable business, doing lots of work for the Cambridge colleges. What has happened has knocked a lot of people for six, some of whom have been here 40, even 50, years. It has shaken us to the core.”
He added that salaries had not been paid, including his own. The firm should know by Tuesday whether or not it has a future.
Haymills was founded in 1911 and its early activities included making Handley Page bombers for use during the First World War. Later it became known as a “high quality” house-building company – constructing Britain’s first housing estate with a garage for every house, in the London area.
In the Eastern region, the company has had a long involvement with building projects on Royal Air Force bases. Its recent projects in Cambridge have included a new court for Clare College, and construction work on the new study centre at the Moller Centre.
Company in shock as bank pulls plug
jenny.chapman@cambridge-news.co.uk
Royal Bank of Scotland has pulled the plug on Haymills, the 100-year-old construction company responsible for a string of award-winning buildings in Cambridge.
The firm, which has offices in Huntingdon and Stowmarket, employs 700 people, half in this area, and has a turnover of £180 million.
Paul Kirkwood, business development manager for Haymills in this region, said: “Last week our bank froze payments even though we were £3 million within the agreed facility, a move which forced us into discussions with other parties, which are still ongoing.
“We were all absolutely shocked and have been in a whirlwind ever since. The administrators, PricewaterhouseCooper, have come in, but administration is still the worst-case scenario.
“We are getting a lot of support from MPs and local sources, especially as RBS is 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer and has been putting out adverts about helping SMEs through the hard times.
“We are an excellent and viable business, doing lots of work for the Cambridge colleges. What has happened has knocked a lot of people for six, some of whom have been here 40, even 50, years. It has shaken us to the core.”
He added that salaries had not been paid, including his own. The firm should know by Tuesday whether or not it has a future.
Haymills was founded in 1911 and its early activities included making Handley Page bombers for use during the First World War. Later it became known as a “high quality” house-building company – constructing Britain’s first housing estate with a garage for every house, in the London area.
In the Eastern region, the company has had a long involvement with building projects on Royal Air Force bases. Its recent projects in Cambridge have included a new court for Clare College, and construction work on the new study centre at the Moller Centre.
