Simon Haskew and Neil Vinnicombe, partners in the Bristol and Bath offices of corporate recovery specialists Begbies Traynor, were appointed as administrators earlier this year. Their attempts to sell the business as a going concern failed and so the business has had to be closed, with the loss of 30 jobs.
The firm, which had been in operation since 1997, was one of UK’s leading designers and constructors of sports grounds, with particular expertise in synthetic surfaces. It had completed more than 200 projects including synthetic, turfed or hard surfaces for a range of sports including football, rugby, hockey, athletics and tennis.
Mr Haskew said despite being a profitable business, three difficult projects in the later part of 2011 significantly impacted profitability and the company was unable to trade out of the situation.
Mr Haskew said: “With growing turnover and profit the business was performing well, but as we see so often in the construction sector, failure of other businesses and dependence on outside contractors inflicted heavy losses on the business, which they were unable to recover from.
“While some sectors of construction are faring better than others, it is generally a challenging market in which to operate. Despite establishing a strong niche, and having a growing business, AP Thompson lost control of some key contracts and the result for the business was eventual closure. Continued impetus into the construction sector form both local and national government is needed to avoid the failure of more businesses and further job losses."
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