The appointment of administrators at Osborne means approximately 100 staff have been made redundant with immediate effect.
A small number of staff will be retained to assist the administrators and continue discussion with possible investors with a view to saving parts of the business.
All staff have been paid to the end of April and consultations with people being made redundant have been carried out in recent days.
Today’s announcement follows an 18-month programme to restructure the firm to focus on the core construction business. During its restructure, Osborne sold its property management division, infrastructure business and offsite manufacturing arm, securing the employment of over 850 jobs. The proceeds of all three sales were reinvested into the business, the company says.
Osborne has faced significant headwinds common to the entire construction over the past two years, fuelled by high inflation, the lingering impacts of covid-19 and Brexit, and a slowdown in public sector procurement.
Chairman Andrew Osborne, whose father Geoffrey started the business 58 years ago in Chichester, said: “This is a sad day and one we worked very hard to avoid. I’m sorry for our staff, who are the greatest strength of our business, and thank them for their work over many years.
“Appointing administrators is a last resort after a determined effort to trade through the economic headwinds and deliver for customers. The management team will now work with the administrators on the next steps for the business.”
Joint administrator Damian Webb of RSM Restructuring Advisory said: “Regrettably despite the substantive efforts of the Osborne team it has not been possible to rescue the business. This failure is attributable to the macro-economic challenges the company has faced since covid and the consequent loss of confidence in the sector from investors and funders.”
