Social housing firm draws up contingency plan (From thisisoxfordshire)

Social housing firm draws up contingency plan

10:30am Thursday 9th September 2010 in

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A MAJOR social housing provider in Oxfordshire is preparing contingency plans following the announcement that its main repairs contractor is in administration.

A2 Dominion is responsible for 2,500 homes in the county and employs Connaught to carry out maintenance work on its houses.

Yesterday, Connaught appointed KPMG as administrators for the main company and its subsidiary, Connaught Partnerships Limited, due to mounting debts.

The company’s other subsidiaries, including the Banbury-based Connaught Environment Limited, will continue to trade as normal.

A2 Dominion spokesman Lizzie Yates said repair work to homes was being carried out as usual but the firm was monitoring the situation.

She added: “Our team has a contingency plan in place. We will release more details as and when we have more information.”

About 10,000 people are employed by Connaught, which holds about £180m in housing contracts around the UK.

The debt-ridden Exeter-based repair and maintenance specialist has been in turmoil since warning in June that Government spending cuts could blow a £200m hole in revenue over this year and next.

It is expected rival firms such as Mears will look to take on work in the wake of Connaught’s move into administration.