Nearly 100 jobs lost as family-owned business collapses

Nearly 100 jobs have been lost as a family-owned business in Wishaw has collapsed due to cash flow problems and the impact of Covid-19.

Weir & McQuiston, a mechanical and electrical contracting specialist founded in 1976, has gone into administration.

The company started with just three employees more than 40 years ago but on Monday it was announced that 93 people were being made redundant.

“Wafer-thin” margins in the construction sector were blamed for unsustainable cash flow problems leading to the business folding.

This was compounded with the cancellation of construction work during the coronavirus pandemic and sector-wide shortages in labour and materials.

Administrators, Azets, said the business had expanded rapidly in recent years and diversified into new markets, including services for the renewables sector.

Weir & McQuiston ran a well-known apprenticeship and training programme and had more than 200 people on the payroll in 2019.

The company did work for city centre offices, health boards, local authorities, private companies, community projects, churches, hotels, retail and sports centres.

But now work in progress, plant and equipment will be sold off by the administrators.

Blair Milne, joint administrator and head of restructuring with Azets, said: “Weir & McQuiston was one of Scotland’s leading mechanical and electrical contracting firms with a quality client base and an excellent reputation across the construction industry.

“The directors did everything possible to keep the business trading, however the scale of cash flow problems and the impact of the lockdown left them with no alternative other than to cease trading and place the company into administration. We will now focus on realising as much value from the assets as possible for the creditors and would ask interested parties to contact our Glasgow office as soon as possible.”