Ocon filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on 1 March.
Liverpool University was swift to safeguard progress on its £50m Crown Place development that Ocon is building. The university has set up a subsidiary construction company to take over responsibility for the delivery of the student residential development. In a statement, the university said: “As part of the arrangement agreed by Opal Property Group and the university, staff currently employed by Ocon will transfer to the new university subsidiary. The university is committed to providing world-class accommodation for its students and has considerable expertise in the delivery of major construction projects. This arrangement will enhance our in house capability and secure the expertise of a team who have been working on the project since last summer. The team successfully delivered the university’s Vine Court student accommodation which opened to students in September.”
Ocon made a loss of £1.4m before tax for the year to 30 September 2012, on turnover of £41.2m, down from £55m the year before. More significant, however, appears to be the £886m debt burden being carried by its parent company.
Other projects in hand include the £9m refurbishment of Loughborough University’s Falkner Eggington hall of residence.
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