Cheshire-based contractor Lyjon Group has appointed administrators after posting a large pre-tax loss.

The company recorded a turnover of £7.9 million in its last published accounts, for the financial year ending September 30, 2023, a decrease of 3% on the previous accounting period.

A pre-tax fall into the red of £89,535 in the year to September 30, 2022 turned into a loss of £888,664 in the most recently published figures.

The directors of Opus Restructuring were recruited this month (November 5), according to The Gazette, which lists official appointments.

Lyjon’s website says it had four divisions focused on construction, electrical, insulation and cladding.

He has worked for clients including Knowsley Housing Trust (now Livv Housing Group), Cheshire Council, Tate & Lyle, United Utilities, Shotton Paper and Georgia-Pacific.

The group had more than £2.4m of losses due to creditors in the year to September 30, 2023. Around three-quarters of this was owed to trade creditors.

Founded in 1964, Lyjon is based in Telford Road, Ellesmere Port. His website says he has worked on projects worth between £10,000 and £1.5 million.

Lyjon Group has been contacted for comment.

According to Creditsafe, 28 construction companies placed under supervision in October.

Rob Driscoll, legal and commercial director of the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), said earlier this month that the construction sector’s business model remained “very fragile”.

And Paul Reidy, director of commercial banking at financial services firm Arbuthnot Latham, warned that the increase in national insurance contributions for employers, announced by the government in the autumn budget, “is likely to increase financial tensions” on small businesses in the construction sector.