Interpath appointed administrator for Merit Health and Merit Holdings 

Administrators from Interpath have been appointed to Merit Health Limited and Merit Holdings Limited after the Northumberland-based modular construction group was hit by mounting cashflow problems linked to delays on major contracts.

The Cramlington business, which works across the healthcare, life science, education, battery technology and aerospace sectors, had faced contractual issues in recent months that affected several large projects and weakened liquidity.

Directors considered a range of options, including a sale, refinancing and investment, but concluded that a solvent outcome was not achievable and therefore appointed administrators. 

James Lumb, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “The UK construction industry continues to face tremendous headwinds, with rising costs, high interest rates and subdued private sector demand having an impact on larger contracts in particular. 

“Although Merit has developed an outstanding reputation for the quality and innovation of its specialist offsite solutions, these broader challenges proved to be insurmountable.”

He added: “We continue to explore options in order to find a solution that works for Merit’s customers, employees and creditors. In the meantime, we are prioritising providing support to all those who have been affected by redundancy, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”