The South-eastern office of consultant Tribal Property is in meltdown after a mass exit of staff.

A former Tribal executive said that the number of project managers at the division鈥檚 Dartford office, which runs schemes throughout south-east England, had fallen from 20 to four.

Two managing directors have also departed. Gareth Blanks left 18 months ago to join the Chelmsford-based company Fusion Project Management.

His successor, David Jenkins, has also quit.

Bob Appleby, a director and senior quantity surveyor, left earlier this year to join Hornagold & Hills.

Tribal Property offers a range of project management, planning, architecture and QS services. Until its recent problems, it had a strong position in the further education sector, which accounted for 95% of its business.

It has been let go from projects because it can鈥檛 cope with the workload

Former Tribal manager

It has been axed from a number of projects which it was already carrying out, including Brighton City College and Suffolk New College in Ipswich.

鈥淚t has been let go from a number of projects because it can鈥檛 cope with the workload,鈥� said the former manager.

Tribal failed to win a place on a Learning and Skills Council framework, which was appointed during the summer.

A Tribal spokesperson said: 鈥淥ur property offices in Leeds and Bristol are performing very well, have a strong level of secured fees and a pipeline of new education opportunities.

鈥淚n the six months to 30 September 2007 gross fees are up more than 40% compared with 2006. However, we are in the process of addressing some challenges faced by our Dartford office. Our priority, as always, is to ensure we deliver an excellent service to our clients.鈥�

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