A LONG-established construction company based in Helensburgh has fallen into liquidation, leading to all staff being made redundant.

Joint provisional liquidators Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden from Interpath Advisory said on Tuesday that family-owned Stewart and Shields, a construction and building services firm which had operated for more than 60 years, had faced significant cashflow challenges arising from contract delays, the rising cost of raw materials, and skills shortages.

It came after the company, which worked on social housing, local authority, commercial construction, private and residential contracts, had built up a strong order book and pipeline of work despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The business has now ceased to trade with the company’s 15 staff being made redundant.

The provisional liquidators said they are providing support to help employees affected submit redundancy claims and ensure they can access the support services of agencies Partnership Action for Continuing Employment.

Mr Nimmo said: “The collapse of Stewart and Shields Limited is another indicator of the challenges and economic headwinds currently facing the Scottish construction sector.

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"The directors fought hard to save this long-standing family-run business, but the construction industry has experienced several challenges over recent years, with rising raw material costs, supply chain disruption and labour challenges putting businesses under increased pressure.”

McAlinden said: “Our priority is to assist those members of staff who have been made redundant, providing them with the information and support they need to claim their statutory entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Office, as well as to support the owners, for whom this is also a very difficult time.”