Kate Holton
UK contractor Carillion collapsed when banks triggered Britain’s biggest corporate failure in a decade, forcing the government to step in to guarantee public services from school meals to roadworks.
The 200-year-old business went into compulsory liquidation at 0600 GMT (5pm AEDT on Monday) after costly contract delays and a slump in new business left it swamped by debt and pensions liabilities of at least £2.2 billion ($3.8 billion).
Its demise threatens to hurt smaller suppliers, merchants, rivals and Britain’s biggest banks. The British government was left to ensure there was no disruption to public services.
The collapse poses a headache for Theresa May’s government, which had…
Read the full article at: http://www.afr.com/business/construction/uks-carillion-rail-builder-and-school-contractor-collapses-as-banks-pull-plug-20180115-h0irya