Contractor Keltrbray has launched a new concrete frame company after acquiring the assets of Dunne from the administrator FRP Advisory earlier this week. The new company, named Keltbray Structures, will specialise in reinforced concrete frames.
Among the assets bought after the company entered administration last monthwere the former yard and head office of Dunne at Bathgate in Scotland and its plant used for the construction of reinforced concrete structures.
Brendan Kerr, chief executive of Keltbray Group, said: “We believe that Keltbray will benefit from tapping into their capability and this acquisition of some of their assets. Keltbray Structures has the potential to complement and expand our existing portfolio, which is already unrivalled in the UK, and help us to further develop our expertise and differentiation in line with market demands.”
He added: “With our financial resources behind it, I believe there is considerable scope for increasing the service offering and profitability of our business through this development, and gives us a better geographical reach to other parts of the UK, including Scotland.”
According to companies house, Gordon Dunne has secured a 20% stake in the new business, where he has taken a senior director role.
"With our financial resources behind it, I believe there is considerable scope for increasing the service offering and profitability of our business through this development, and gives us a better geographical reach to other parts of the UK, including Scotland."
Brendan Kerr, chief executive of Keltbray Group
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the collapse of Dunne Group and fellow subcontractor JB Brickwork has contributed to around a six-month delay to the opening of the new £150m Royal Hospital for Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh.
NHS Lothian said the hospital opening date has been pushed back to Spring 2018 from autumn next year.
The hospital is being delived by a consortium comprising Brookfield Multiplex as design and build contractor, Bouygues E&S as facilities management provider and Macquarie Capital as sponsor and financial adviser.
The consortium is reviewing the construction timetable with a new programme expected in October, NHS Lothian said.
The administration and liquidation of Dunne Group and JB Brickwork respectively caused a pause in work on the site, the client said, while progress was also hit by unfavourable winter weather and “unavoidable” technical construction problems.
The consortium has increased staffing on the site and working hours along with altered construction methods to lessen the impact as it looks at a revised timetable. Work is still continuing on the site.
Jim Crombie, acting chief executive at NHS Lothian, said: “Projects of this scale and of this nature are very rarely straightforward and bring with them many complex and sometimes unavoidable challenges.
“It is important to note that these alterations to the construction timetable will not result in any additional costs to NHS Lothian.
The Dunne group went into administration in July with the loss of over 500 jobs. The group is understood to have bid aggressively for big, long-term contracts following the financial crisis, and since then had struggled to keep costs sufficiently low to remain profitable.
