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Just when we thought the worst of the financial crisis was over, along came the Greeks to remind us what cash flow problems look like on an epic scale.

And, before we say 鈥渟erves them right for borrowing more than they can afford鈥�, it鈥檚 worth remembering that the country with the next highest debt-to-GDP ratio in Europe is, er, us.

The truth is that we鈥檝e all got used to living beyond our means - not just in our private lives, but in business and even in sport.

鈥淏efore we say 鈥檚erves the greeks right鈥�, it鈥檚 worth remembering that the country with the next highest debt-to-GDP ratio in Europe is, er, us鈥�

Every day, the back pages tell us about some new crisis in the over-geared world of football. First, Portsmouth went into administration. Now Liverpool is up for sale to bail out its American owners. Even Manchester United - the biggest and best-known name - has so much debt that one bad season could bring it crashing down.

If you鈥檙e sick of hearing about the antics of greedy prima donna footballers, you probably don鈥檛 find that upsetting. But the reality is that our own industry is no different - and I speak from personal experience.

I used to own part of a company called Allan Roofing. We sold most of our shares to an investment group, which had bought three other construction companies. Their plan was to use group synergies to save costs and grow all the businesses together.

On paper, it made sense but in reality they鈥檇 over-stretched themselves. They needed all four companies to perform well but, with the exception of Allan, they didn鈥檛. When the recession bit, the only way for the new owners to meet their commitments was to take money out of the one profitable business, which was Allan.

But cash is the lifeblood of any business, however profitable. If you take it out faster than it comes in (as Allan鈥檚 parent company did), it can鈥檛 end well - and it didn鈥檛. Two months ago, Allan followed the other companies into administration.

Now, I have to hold up my hand and admit I made a mistake. If I had my time again, I wouldn鈥檛 sell the business: it cost me money and it cost people I care about their jobs. And what鈥檚 really depressing is that it was all so unnecessary.

Allan was a good business. It had a good team, happy customers and a full order book; in a tough market, it was still turning a good profit. But it failed because its owners over-stretched themselves.

鈥淎llan had a good team, happy customers and a full order book; in a tough market, it was turning a good profit. But it failed because its owners over-stretched themselves鈥�

The real victims in the Allan story are the people who worked there. They worked hard, they did a good job and they built a successful business.
I wish I could tell you this was an isolated story - but, sadly, there are far too many like it in the construction industry at the moment.

So, is it all doom and gloom? Well, maybe not. One word we鈥檝e all heard a lot more in our industry over the last two years is 鈥渟ustainable鈥� - and, when people use it now, they鈥檙e not just talking about ticking a box to look like a responsible corporate citizen.

There鈥檚 an appetite for thinking longer-term again. People are starting to be pickier about whom they do business with - and how. When they鈥檙e choosing a supplier, they don鈥檛 just think about how they can achieve the biggest margin; they look at who鈥檚 going to do the right job at a fair price. Because they鈥檝e learned that squeezing people may work in the short-term, but it doesn鈥檛 earn you a sustainable future.

Of course, that鈥檚 good news for me, because my new business is all about sustainability (green roof, anyone?).

But this new attitude is also good news for our industry as a whole. I don鈥檛 know about you, but I鈥檇 say we鈥檙e all ready for a happy ending.

Luke Wessely is a director of the Eden Roof Company