ISG, a UK-headquartered construction giant with a presence across Ireland, wider Europe and the Middle East is facing collapse, with the firm preparing to place much of its business into insolvency.
The firm employs more than 2,000 people and is one of the largest construction companies in the UK. It’s collapse would be the biggest casualty in the sector since Carillion went into liquidation in 2018.
Six of the firm’s subsidiaries filed notices of intention to appoint administrators on Thursday.
EY is being lined up to carry out the administrations of the subsidiaries, according to people familiar with the matter.
The firm reported revenue of £2.2bn (€2.6bn) and pre-tax profits of £11.5m (€13.7m), according to the latest accounts filed at UK Companies House.
The industry has been hit especially hard in recent months, with a run-up in material costs quickly making some long-running projects unprofitable over time.
ISG is owned by private equity firm Cathexis Holdings LP, which has been attempting to sell ISG in recent months.
The industry giant has completed several projects in Ireland, including the construction of a two-storey datacentre in Dublin for a large US-based co-location datacentre specialist in 2018.
Speaking at the time, ISG said the development allowed the company to “demonstrate our value in the Irish market,” which it added had “significant growth potential.”
ISG also has an office in Dublin where it operates as a main contractor within the construction industry, delivering both distribution centres for online retailers, primarily via developers and highly engineered build environments in the tech and science sector.
According to the most recently filed accounts by ISG Interior Services Group Ireland, the company completed three projects in 2022 and started a fourth that ran into 2023 for the same local developer, delivering annual revenue of €35.9m. That was just under half the €69.5m revenue the company posted in the previous year.
In its most recent financial statement, the company said further work had not yet been secured, however, it would continue to support the closure of current projects.
In 2022, the company incurred a loss of €19m, noting that it had obtained information from its parent company, ISG Europe Investments BV, of its continued financing of ISG’s Irish business for the foreseeable future.
Also in 2022, ISG acquired a majority shareholding in Kardomagh Holdings Ltd (ESS Group), a modern methods of construction specialist headquartered in Dublin.
Additional reporting from Bloomberg.