On 8 June an application was filed by Henry Construction Projects with the Companies Court. Henry has retained counsel from London law firm Mishcon de Reya.
It comes amid reports of ‘nonpayment to contractors by Henry’, according to the Enquirer.
Drylining contractor, Ozel Group, lodged a winding up petition against Henry on 31 May, court records show. Ozel retained Liverpool headquartered commercial law firm, Hill Dickson.
Irish construction firm, Paramud Interiors, lodged a winding up petition against Henry on 12 May, retaining Arch Law Limited. Henry’s counsel is Birketts LLP.
On 13 April, Batth Contracts lodged a winding up petition against Henry, retaining Wilkin Chapman LLP.
On 20 March, project management experts, Capital Consulting International, also lodged a winding up petition against Henry, retaining Silverback Commercial Law Services.
On 16 January, Hitchin metal fabricator, Cube Metals, lodged a winding up petition against Henry, retaining Bird & Bird law.
Winding up petitions are serious legal actions and can lead to a company’s bank accounts being frozen. An unpaid creditor can petition the courts to force an insolvent company into compulsory liquidation.
Belfast double glazing firm, Alu-Fix, has lodged claims against Henry, court records show. The most recent is 2 June. Another is in November last year.
However, Henry appears to have lodged counter claims against Alu-Fix on 19 May, 24 March and 14 March, retaining Colchester legal services, Archor LLP.
Italian construction company, Bluesteel S.r.l., lodged a claim against Henry on 16 May, retaining Charles Russell Speechlys law firm.
ProMEP Engineering lodged claims against Henry on 26 April, 24 March and 26 January, retaining counsel from HQ Law.
On 18 April, Henry filed a claim against Astoria Brighton LLP.
Similar filings continue back to at least 2019.
It is understood Henry has around 30 live projects. Last year Henry reported revenues of around £400 million.
FIS Chief Executive Iain McIlwee said:
“These are troubling times. I spoke at our Awards yesterday about the impact of using the specialists as a free bank and that the risk the supply chain is being asked to carry as a financier is completely unacceptable and we need to revisit this in the Construction Act and through widescale use of project bank accounts. It was sobering to read this after the event. We encourage anyone impacted to contact FIS and we will do all we can to support the supply chain in what is clearly a difficult time.”
Source: https://constructionwave.co.uk/2023/06/08/henry-files-for-administration-amid-string-of-legal-claims/
