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ISG staff have voiced their sadness and frustration at the demise of the 拢2.2bn contractor following a series of loss-making jobs and called for industry-wide reform to prevent another major collapse.

The firm鈥檚 chief executive Zoe Price confirmed yesterday evening that the group was set to go into administration after the failure of a deal to sell the business to a South African businessman. 

The news came 11 weeks after ISG chairman Matt Roche wrote to staff promising them that the deal would be finalised 鈥渨ithin days鈥�.

ISG operations director Rick Gray described the firm鈥檚 collapse as 鈥渄eeply saddening鈥�, adding: 鈥淥ur industry must change, low margin high risk is not the future of construction!鈥�

He said: 鈥淚鈥檝e been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people who have reached out to me tonight to offer support and opportunities.

鈥淲hat an amazing industry full of camaraderie in such challenging times! ISG is stacked full of talented people and it鈥檚 such a shame that legacy issues have dragged the business down.鈥�

>> See also: Clients told to move quickly to find replacements for ISG, or risk sites being stalled for months

An IT project site team lead at the firm wrote on social media: 鈥淲hat a week, this time last week I was advised of my dream promotion IT operations manager at ISG. This week I go onto write about the company鈥檚 administration. Roller coaster or what?鈥�

He added: 鈥淭o say my mental health has taken a battering is an understatement, alas my focus as it always has been is the fantastic people, boy did ISG have them in abundance.鈥�

ISG assistant planner Jodie Robinson described the firm鈥檚 collapse as a 鈥渟ad day for the industry鈥�, adding: 鈥淎bsolutely heartbroken for all of my friends and colleagues at ISG. I have absolutely loved the last 4.5 years working with you all.鈥�

>> See also: ISG鈥檚 collapse: a huge blow to construction that raises urgent and difficult questions

Scant information provided by the business about the status of its prospective sale during weeks of uncertainty has come in for sharp criticism, with one industry professional saying the 鈥渃ommunication and management of the whole process has been absolutely disgusting鈥�.

In an email sent to staff yesterday, Price admitted that some may have felt there had been a 鈥渓ack of communication鈥� but claimed that every update the firm had provided had been leaked to the press by a 鈥渧ery small minority鈥�.

鈥淸This] as not been helpful as we have worked to rescue ISG. And that is why we have been very cautious in the past couple of months,鈥� she said.

Meanwhile, people across the industry have expressed their dismay at the firm鈥檚 sudden collapse and the expected loss of its approximately 3,000 employees.

Abigail Tester, who now works at Danny Sullivan Group as head of people and engagement, was made redundant from Buckingham Group following the firm鈥檚 collapse last year.

She said: 鈥淭hose at ISG - I am thinking of you today. It will get better, and I know you need to find your way over the next few days, and weeks.鈥�

Arcadis global head of projects James Saunders said: 鈥淭errible news to hear that ISG has filed for administration. 

鈥淥ver the past 15 years I have been in industry, ISG have been consistently one of the most innovative and forward thinking construction companies, taking on some of the most challenging fit-out and refurbishment projects across the UK. 

鈥淭houghts to the clients, consultants, subbies and the tier 1 contractors in this market as they figure out how to pick up the pieces following the fall of this behemoth.鈥�

One Arcadis commercial director who had worked at ISG until 2020 said he was 鈥済utted鈥� for staff facing redundancy and the 鈥渋mpending fallout of unpaid subbies鈥�.

He said: 鈥淚SG, once a leading global Tier 1, with some of the most exciting and innovative people, working to secure the most cutting edge and challenging projects, reduced to administration.

鈥淢any many reasons for this, but I doubt the industry will ever change.鈥�

Matthew Bennett, managing director at innovation consultant Rethinking Construction, said yesterday鈥檚 announcement was an 鈥渁wful way for all of its employees to find out鈥�.

鈥淚t just goes to show how easily even well established main contractors can quickly get into difficulty. Yet another warning that the current industry model is simply unsustainable,鈥� he said.

And Nathan Raven, business manager at Construction Resources Limited, expressed concern for the impact on the supply chain, adding: 鈥淭he knock-on effect will be horrendous through absolutely no fault of their own. The system is broken, but I think we all know that.鈥�