Most jobs saved at nmcn - but staff wait to see what the future holds

Staff are waiting anxiously to see what the future holds after most of the jobs at collapsed Huthwaite firm nmcn were saved.
The Huthwaite headquarters of nmcn has now been taken over by private investment company Svella, which has bought part of the failed firm.The Huthwaite headquarters of nmcn has now been taken over by private investment company Svella, which has bought part of the failed firm.
The Huthwaite headquarters of nmcn has now been taken over by private investment company Svella, which has bought part of the failed firm.

Nmcn, a nationally-renowned engineering and construction contractor, went into administration last week after hitting financial problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, halting 75 years of trading.

But since then, administrators Grant Thornton have successfully secured deals to sell large chunks of the business, preserving about 1,500 jobs across the country.

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These include dozens at one of the firm’s regional offices at Annesley, where staff worked within the company's water division, which has been sold for £1 million to Galliford Try, a leading construction group.

Design team leader Karen Andrews, who was part of the water division, said: “I got a phone call from my boss, telling me to come back to work on Monday.

"Galliford Try are transferring everything over and getting things in order. They are then going to address us all to tell us the way forward.”

Since nmcn went bust, Karen, 41, has been for jobs and interviews elsewhere, but is staying put at the moment.

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"I will give it a couple of weeks to see how things pan out and what the order book looks like," she said.

"But I’m not panicking. There is a lot of work out there, and not enough people to do it.”

About 900 nmcn employees will join Galliford Try as a result of the transaction. The water division generated revenue of £282 million in 2019, working with UK utility companies to build and maintain high-quality water and wastewater treatment systems.

Karen added: “It's been absolutely manic trying to catch up. I have spoken to my team and we are trying to work on the projects we have at the moment, including a big one.

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"We can’t work at full capacity, but we are doing our best.”

Nmcn's headquarters at Huthwaite is now owned by Svella, a private investment organisation which has bought the telecoms, plant hire, transport and accommodation operations of the failed firm.

The administrators have failed to find a buyer for the company's building division, leading to the loss of 80 jobs. This is because of problems with old contracts.

However, some of nmcn's infrastructure assets and contracts have been bought by construction engineering specialist Keltbray, saving 117 jobs.

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