Stewart Milne Group goes into administration with loss of 200 jobs

Stewart Milne said news that the housebuilding firm he founded has entered administration is "devastating". Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

More than 200 workers have been made redundant after the housebuilder Stewart Milne Group went into administration.

The group, which is headquarters in Aberdeen, was founded in 1975 and has around 35 sites across the country with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Teneo Financial Advisory Limited have been appointed joint administrators and around 217 roles at the company have “regrettably” been made redundant.

A sales process was run by the firm from May last year but directors made the decision to put each of the Stewart Milne companies that operate active development sites in Scotland into administration.

The group has faced “significant challenges” in recent years, with financial uncertainty related to rising interest rates, cost pressure increases and a reduction in consumer confidence being cited.

Founder Stewart Milne said it was “devastating” that the business was faced with “no option” but to appoint administrators.

He said: “I am devastated by this totally unexpected outcome of the sale process and struggling to accept it, given the profound impact it will have on employees, sub-contractors, suppliers and customers.

“Stewart Milne Group was up for sale and, following significant interest, two bids were submitted. The bank has not accepted either bid and withdrawn its funding which left the directors with no option but to appoint administrators.

“I tried everything I could to find a way to achieve a better outcome for the business and the people who depend on it. I believe one of the bids could have delivered a comparable, financial return to administration and, crucially, allowed the business to continue to operate, safe-guarding hundreds of jobs and protecting livelihoods.”

The administrators say they are in communication with all employees affected by redundancy and are “working closely” with the Redundancy Payments Service to help deliver any statutory entitlements.

Teneo said they are ‘pursuing an orderly wind down of the business’ and that 112 employees were being retained across the group.

Adele MacLeod of Teneo said: “The downturn in the UK housing market combined with an extensive sales process not resulting in any viable offers has ultimately led to the need for the directors to place Stewart Milne Group Limited and some of its subsidiaries into Administration, regretfully with some immediate redundancies.

“We continue to assess all the options in respect of the group’s Scottish development sites and encourage any party with an interest to get in touch.”

The business was started by Mr Milne, former Aberdeen Football Club chairman, in 1975 after he qualified as an electrician.

He postponed his retirement in an attempt to secure the future of the firm amid talks with "seriously interested parties".

The company reported a boost in profits for the 21/22 financial year having sold its timber systems business in December 2021.

It recorded pre-tax profits of £16.5m for the year to the end of October 2022.

However, turnover fell year-on-year by £48.7m to £172.4m as unit sales fell by nearly 30 per cent to 583.