Jehu Group: Bridgend builder closes with loss of 104 jobs

The company had 15 ongoing projects with social landlords and local councils

A construction and development company in business since the 1930s has ceased trading with the loss of 104 jobs.

Jehu Group in Bridgend was known for social housing projects in Wales and the south west of England, and the developer Waterstone Homes.

The group still had 15 live contracts, worth more than £100m.

"This is a truly devastating day for the business started by our grandfather over 85 years ago," said company directors Marc and Simon Jehu.

They said the group was profitable in 2019, but its cash reserves were "decimated," first by delays caused during the Covid pandemic, and then by inflation, which put costs up by 25%.

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"We were fighting a battle that simply couldn't be won due to the successive economic shocks of the past couple of years," the directors said.

"Every possible option to keep the business alive has been completely exhausted and it is with desolate hearts that we find ourselves with no choice but to cease trading."

Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor was hired to put companies in the group into administration. It had 15 ongoing projects with registered social landlords and local authorities.

'Impossibly difficult situation'

"We understand this is a worrying time for our colleagues, supply chain partners and customers," Marc and Simon Jehu said.

"We are working with Begbies Traynor to get the best outcome from an impossibly difficult situation."

Huw Powell, a managing partner at Begbies Traynor, said it showed the "crushing impact of the current inflationary environment on an established and successful business".

Before the pandemic Jehu Group was highly profitable, he said, with almost £7m in net assets in 2019.

"Delays in completing projects caused by the pandemic and subsequent cost increases caused a severe cashflow crisis that it could not recover from," he said, adding that it was "highly regrettable that efforts to secure its future were unsuccessful, where the current political and economic turmoil counted against them".

The group's employees were "devastated by today's news," he said, "and I sincerely hope that their track record of delivering successful projects will stand them in good stead to gain new employment quickly."