Contractor blames State as it folds

Brian McCarthy Contractors Ltd yesterday became the latest high-profile victim of the building crash after confirming that it has ceased trading.

During the building boom, the Ennis-based firm recorded revenues in excess of €70m and completed substantial projects including the 17-storey Clarion Hotel in Limerick and the Irish Chamber Orchestra building at the University of Limerick.

The award-winning firm — in place for the past 36 years — employed over 220 during the boom and the decision to cease trading will result in the loss of the 20 direct jobs that remained at the firm.

A spokesman for the company yesterday confirmed a receiver will be appointed. Accounts confirm it continued to record profits throughout the recession, right up to 2010, with pre-tax profits of €130,344 on revenues of €14.6m. However, losses were recorded in 2011 and 2012. The spokesman said: “It is a sad time. We have long-serving employees who have been very loyal. It will be as orderly a wind-down as possible.”

The spokesman said that the company decided to close “due to the unavailability of profitable work”.

He said: “It was not viable to continue and there was insufficient workload to cover overheads. It was an extremely difficult decision to cease trading, but it was also a prudent commercial decision as it was not feasible to continue.”

The spokesman said that the Government awarding contracts to below-cost tenders for public works “made it very difficult to continue”.

The spokesman said: “We have a pessimistic view of the market in Ireland. The public sector is the main market for contracts and the new form of government contract is so loaded against the contractor, it would have been bordering on reckless trading if we had tried to enter into these contracts.”

The company said that the last 18 months “have been quite stressful when you are doing everything possible to generate new sources of work”.