Sad day.

[kingkenny]

Well went into work today,opened up as normal,then at 8.30am was called into office,loads of people sitting with rather sad faces,then to be told that the company has been put into administration.
The company in question is MJN Colstons,a very large and (thought) successful M&E company that i have been employed by for 45 years,to say im gutted is a bit of an understatement,so at present not knowing what is going to happen regarding redundancy payments etc ,worrying times.

 

[awemawson]

Very bad luck - I hope that you are looked afer. This from the web:

The company, which turned over £96.1m in the year to May 2011, is expected to call in administrators from Deloitte later today, a spokesman confirmed.

The contractor traces its origins back to 1890 and made a pre-tax profit of £2.1m last year.

According to accounts filed at Companies House it employed 414 staff as of May 2011, having occurred £247,000 of redundancy and restructuring costs in the year.

Redundancy and restructuring costs in 2010 were £1.3m and staff numbers were 15 per cent down in year to May 2011.

The fete of the company’s staff is unclear at present with many only finding out last night, a source told CN.

Directors did not take a salary last year and no dividend was paid.

The company, which is owned by Staveley Engineering Services, operates nationally in six regions from nine offices in Gateshead, Blackburn, Coventry, Bury St Edmunds, Croydon, Bristol, Bridgend and Exeter.

In the year to May 2010 MJN acquired EI WHS - another SES company - for a consideration of £1.1m.

They created a loan account with the vendor to do this. Some directors got payments from SES but those are disclosed in that companies’ accounts.

MJN Colston operates in the public and private sectors offering project management, design, prefabrication, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and mechanical, electrical, control and instrumentation systems.

High profile clients include Fujitsu, the Eden Project, Sony and Arsenal’s Emirates stadium.

It was the first of the eight breakaway major M&E contractors to withdraw from plans to introduce the controversial BESNA agreement.

 

[kingkenny]

many thanks for this information,fingers crossed.

 

[Shox Dr]

Sorry to hear that, at 45yrs service you should be in for one hell of a payout, subject to monies been there. It might be a blessing in disguise.

Let us know how you get on

 

[cumbriasteve]

Sorry to hear your bad news, if it comes to redundancy and you get what you are entitled to, then get some very good financial advice, anything over £30k the tax man dives in at 40%.

I think there are ways to beat this if funds are placed in pensions etc but I don't know the ins and outs of it all I'm afraid.

 

[rocketron]

Very sorry to hear of your bad news, have been made redundant 4 times, each one a sickener. Last company, was a robotics engineer, there for over 2 years, venture capitalists withdrew money so had no money to trade, and , of course, no money for redundancy.
Got some from the government's redundancy scheme, about £240/week. Took 17 weeks to get, and even longer to get my holiday pay, but was worth the effort.
Found dole to be real difficult, tried so hard to look for work, ie "Have you made effort to look for work?". Even Tesco turned down my application as shelf stacker. Found it really difficult to maintain morale and self-esteem.
With 2 days to go before dole stopped, got a phone call offering a job as marine engineer (powerboats and yachts) for s...e money. Still a job, though. Was 50 at the time.

Summat WILL turn up. In the meantime, go build extension/conservatory/garage or even a woodburner. I built a garage with second floor, cavity walls, slate roof and loads of insulation. Easy conversion to a house!!!

Did it in 6 months, was much cheaper than, and as good as a contractor. Learnt a lot, lost weight and added about £37k to value of the house! Could say this equates to £74k/year wages?

Stay positive and keep your pecker up. Wish you all the very best.

 

[kingkenny]

Thank guys,but i haven't been officially told that i am redundant (yet),just don't report to work,still have company car,fuel card etc,garden leave i think they call it.

 

[Mick - Ford Focus]

kingkenny

Been Made Redundant Twice Before Its A Shock And A Complete Downer.

Be Positive And Get Some Of Those "Put Off" Jobs Done To Keep Yourself Busy.

All The Best.

Mick

 

[kingkenny]

Well the outcome,The offer they have put to me on the redundancy is very acceptable,and me and the wife have decided to take the bull by the horns and spend summers at our property in Plovdiv.Bulgaria,winters in our small cottage in devon,and sell the house here in london,and both retire from the rat race.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Good on you, enjoy it!
Shame about those that will need to find work though.

 

[tigler]

Sounds like a good plan, I envy you !! All the best.

 

[kingkenny]

thanks tigler

 

[stuvy]

glad to hear there is a happy ending for you, now your moving up in the world dont forget to keep popping in here

 

[kingkenny]

I will be still around,I may not contribute much,But i enjoy popping into the forum and having a good read.

 

[Robotstar5]

Glad you are happy with the outcome, surely there's room for a small workshop next to the cottage?

 

[zx9]

Well the outcome,The offer they have put to me on the redundancy is very acceptable,and me and the wife have decided to take the bull by the horns and spend summers at our property in Plovdiv.Bulgaria,winters in our small cottage in Devon,and sell the house here in London,and both retire from the rat race.

Good to hear you have got a good offer on the redundancy and a very enjoyable plan for spending your time. Have you thought of renting out the London house, it could provide a long term income?

 

[kingkenny]

Yes we have thought about it,but we have increased the value since we bought it,and don't want to really go down that road,plus what we can get for it will make life very comfortable for the pair of us,1st once redundancy is in the bank is to purchase a decent campervan as the drive to Bulgaria is 1600km,so a larger chunk of the money will be spent on the van,so the sale of the house will be the only way

 

[kingkenny]

Glad you are happy with the outcome, surely there's room for a small workshop next to the cottage?

the cottage has a decent size garage where we are going to store our lovely 93 metro,so it wont go to waste.

 

[chunkolini]

Sounds like a healthy approach to life to me.
Congratulations.
Sure;y at least one small shed at each end of the commute.

 

[kingkenny]

Sounds like a healthy approach to life to me.
Congratulations.
Sure;y at least one small shed at each end of the commute.

I have worked hard for what we have,And the thought of looking for work at my age was a bit frightening to be honest,We are both in good health and each have a trade pipefitter/plumber/midwife,so when we return for the winters we can both do some agency work to supplement our time here,The cost of living is very cheap in Bulgaria,and in the summer reaches up to 40c,but winters are cruel -10-15c,so the english winters are favourable.
We are very friendly with the estate agent that sold us our property 15 years ago,and i emailed him over the weekend with the view of renting a reasonable size lock up,with a view of doing a bit of fabrication work i.e gates,fencing etc,so we are thinking all sorts of ideas.