Scottish firm goes into administration after slump in demand for structural steel

Lanarkshire firm Bone Steel entered administration today after 18 months of struggling with low demand and rising debt.

KPMG was appointed receiver following a request from the company directors. Of 118 employees, 113 have already been made redundant today. In 2008 Bone recorded turnover of 拢28.7m, but debt rose from 拢2.3m in 2007 to 拢3m in 2008.

Chris Bone, chief executive at the firm, said: 鈥淒emand for structural steel declined by more than 50% in the last 18 months, while challenging conditions in the construction market continued to depress margins and induce project delays out of the company鈥檚 control.

鈥淒espite a healthy order intake earlier in the year, contract slippages, volume reductions and supplier credit restrictions combined to make trading extremely difficult. Market conditions are tough for everyone in this sector at present, and we couldn鈥檛 see a way forward for the group as it stands.鈥�

According to KPMG, the remaining staff will help with 鈥渞ealising the company鈥檚 principal assets鈥�, such as property, plant and contracts. Bone, which was founded in 1938, was one of the largest construction steel firms in the UK and had offices in the Middle East.

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