{"id":517264,"date":"2025-04-22T12:45:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=517264"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:50:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:50:57","slug":"revealed-the-11-isg-firms-that-went-into-liquidation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/contractors\/isg\/revealed-the-11-isg-firms-that-went-into-liquidation-22-04-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: 11 ISG firms went into liquidation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eleven firms in the ISG family \u2013 including the UK holding company \u2013 entered liquidation rather than appointing administrators,<\/span> Construction News<\/span><\/i>\u00a0can reveal.<\/span><\/p>\n

In September, accountancy firm EY was appointed as the administrator for eight of ISG\u2019s most well-known companies after<\/span> the \u00a32.2bn-turnover firm\u2019s collapse<\/span><\/a> that month.<\/span><\/p>\n

New analysis by <\/span>CN <\/span><\/i>shows that during the two months after the firm\u2019s demise, staff from accountancy and business advisory firm Azets UK were appointed as liquidators for 11 additional UK companies in the<\/span> ISG<\/span><\/a> group.<\/span><\/p>\n

These businesses included the holding company for all of ISG\u2019s operations, ISG Ltd.<\/span><\/p>\n

Documents filed by Azets with Companies House do not list any monies owed to the supply chain. But they do show inter-company debts of \u00a3111.2m, mainly to EY-administered companies ISG Construction, ISG Central and ISG Retail.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also show ISG Ltd, ISG Overseas Investments Ltd and ISG Construction Holdings Ltd each owed \u00a31 to Goldman Sachs, while ISG Ltd owed a further \u00a31 to Santander\u2019s UK operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, the firms owed a total of \u00a353.4m to HMRC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Insolvency industry sources told <\/span>CN <\/span><\/i>that the involvement of multiple parties made it more complicated to determine the scale of ISG\u2019s debt to the taxpayer because it is unclear whether the debts identified by EY and Azets intersect or can be added together.<\/span><\/p>\n

In separate documents filed with Companies House, EY said the eight ISG subsidiaries whose administrations they are managing owed \u00a390.2m to HMRC.<\/span><\/p>\n

CN <\/span><\/i>asked EY and Azets to provide a combined total that ISG Ltd and its entities owed HMRC when it was placed into administration. EY said it was not able to provide the detail requested, and Azets had not responded by the time of publication.<\/span><\/p>\n

ISG Ltd\u2019s most recent accounts, covering the year to 31 December 2022 and published in May 2023, described 53 subsidiaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of these, 19 were based in Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The status of ISG Ltd and its 34 UK-based subsidiaries is listed below.<\/span><\/p>\n

ISG Cathedral \u2013 one of ISG\u2019s fit-out businesses \u2013 was<\/span> purchased by Morris & Spottiswood in the weeks following ISG\u2019s collapse<\/span><\/a>, saving 100 jobs. The firm was listed on Companies House as dormant, and has been dissolved as well in its ISG-owned format.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the 15 other ISG firms in the UK that were dormant when ISG went under, 14 have now been dissolved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dormant firms can be struck off the Companies House register without going through administration or liquidation procedures if they have not traded for the past three months, have no outstanding debts or liabilities, and there is no legal action pending against them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other firm, Exterior International Ltd, has an active proposal to be struck off the company register.<\/span><\/p>\n

In February, one of the firms that entered liquidation, ISG Pearce,<\/span> came into the spotlight after a housing association announced plans to demolish a block<\/span><\/a> built by the company. Elim Housing Association had been pursuing ISG Pearce for \u00a34m worth of defects, and said it could no longer afford the necessary remediation after the firm went into administration.<\/span><\/p>\n

ISG\u2019s collapse also had a substantial impact on the UK government\u2019s coffers. In January, senior civil servants<\/span> revealed the business\u2019s demise would hit the Ministry of Justice\u2019s new prisons programme<\/span><\/a> to the tune of more than \u00a3300m.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for HMRC said: \u201cWe take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts, working with them to find the best possible solution based on their financial circumstances.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Insolvency firms appointed to manage ISG\u2019s UK-based subsidiaries<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Administration managed by EY<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\nLiquidation managed by Azets<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\nDormant ISG firms without administrators or liquidators<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\nISG firms sold off following its collapse (with no insolvency firms involved)<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Central Services Ltd<\/td>\nISG Ltd (ISG\u2019<\/span>s holding company in the UK)<\/td>\nCommtech (UK) Ltd<\/td>\nISG Cathedral<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Construction Ltd<\/td>\nTotty Developments Ltd<\/td>\nExterior International Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Engineering Services Ltd<\/td>\nInterior Services Group Ltd<\/td>\nISG Asia Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Fit Out Ltd<\/td>\nInterior Services Group (UK Holdings) Ltd<\/td>\nISG Developments Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Retail Ltd<\/td>\nISG Construction Holdings Ltd<\/td>\nISG Developments (Southern) Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Interior Services Group UK Ltd<\/td>\nISG Overseas Investments Ltd<\/td>\nISG Developments UK Holdings Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG Jackson Ltd<\/td>\nISG Pearce Ltd<\/td>\nISG Europe Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISG UK Retail Ltd<\/td>\nISG Retail and Leisure Ltd<\/td>\nISG Jackson Special Projects Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nISG South Ltd<\/td>\nISG Middle East Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nISG Technology Solutions Ltd<\/td>\nISG UK Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nRealys Holdings Ltd<\/td>\nPropencity Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nRealys Europe Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nISG Northern Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nISG UK Fit Out Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nRealys Ltd<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eleven firms in the ISG family \u2013 including the UK holding company \u2013 entered liquidation rather than appointing administrators, Construction News\u00a0can reveal. In September, accountancy firm EY was appointed as the administrator for eight of ISG\u2019s most well-known companies after the \u00a32.2bn-turnover firm\u2019s collapse that month. New analysis by CN shows that during the two …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90643,"featured_media":511742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[554,552,535],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n