Cash-crunched Stoke building firm calls in administrators

Groundwork and civil engineering contractor Caldwell Construction has formally entered insolvency proceedings, after filing an intention to call in administrators earlier this week.

PKF Littlejohn Advisory has now been been appointed as Administrators of Caldwell Construction, which employs more than 400 people across bases in Stoke-on-Trent and Warrington, and saw revenue to March 2025 of around £58m.

The firm’s most recent accounts, filed with Companies House in March, showed the firm made a loss of around £170,000 in 24/25, down from £2.9m the previous year.

An upbeat assessment from directors delivered as part of those accounts said the company was “performing well” – despite its profit margins coming under pressure from increasing material and labour costs, completing fixed price legacy contracts coming to an end and a slowdown in the housing market.

However, this week, Paul Smith – a partner at PKF Littlejohn Advisory UK LLP – said “challenging trading conditions” affecting the wider industry had placed significant strain on cashflow and operations at Caldwell in recent weeks.

“The PKF Littlejohn Advisory team in Manchester and Leeds had worked closely with Caldwell’s management over the past few months to explore all available options and potential solutions for the business,” he said.

“Unfortunately, despite extensive efforts, it was not possible to secure a way forward that would allow the company to continue trading outside of an insolvency process.”

The firm was founded in 2007, and specialises in the construction of foundations, sewers, storm water attenuation systems, hard and soft landscaping as well as carriageways and footpaths.

Joint Administrator, Oliver Collinge, added: “The directors at Caldwell have taken the difficult decision to place the company into administration. Our immediate focus is now on supporting employees and stakeholders while we assess the position of the business and its assets.”