Contractor on Lewis’ Building to go into liquidation

The building contractor delivering the final phase of regeneration at the Lewis’ Building in Liverpool is set to go into liquidation with the loss of 10 jobs.

Merepark Construction Ltd secured an initial £26m contract to refurbish the interior and exterior of the iconic Grade II listed building having successfully completed the interior strip out of the nine-storey building.

Due to the increasing scope of works the scheme was running 15% over-budget when the project funder decided to cease payments to Merepark Construction’s subcontractors and suppliers, despite the project being 85% complete.

Control of the scheme has now changed hands, forcing the company to seek advice from Begbies Traynor on going into voluntary liquidation.

Paul Barber, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “Following the bank’s decision to take control of the Central Village scheme, the directors of Merepark Construction Ltd were left with no alternative than to seek advice as to the process of entering into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

“All 10 of the company’s staff were made redundant with immediate effect.”