Contrary to popular and populist opinion, outsourcing is a messy business with little margin for profit. Or for error. Serco boss Rupert Soames has a lavatory brush on his desk to remind himself not to bid for work below the average cleaners 5-6 per cent margin. He calls it his Shitometer. But if former Carillion boss Richard Howson had something similar, on his desk, he ignored its proximity to the fan.
Today, the former hit the latter and Carillion entered liquidation.
But among the many questions this outcome raises, the most pertinent is: why liquidation rather than administration?
Administration allows a company to continue to op…
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