Hartlepool Construction Company 'On The Verge of Collapse', as Meeting of Creditors is Called.

BuildRoute based at Greythorp Industrial Estate Hartlepool is facing possible insolvency after a meeting of its creditors is called (Location is Approximate)

EXCLUSIVE: Hartlepool Construction Firm 'Buildroute' Was Already Insolvent as far back as 2024, as £2.5m Debt Spiraled Out of Control

A Hartlepool construction company is said to be on the brink of collapse triggering an emergency creditors’ meeting set to be held later this month, putting as many as 40 jobs at risk.

Buildroute Limited, based at Graythorp Industrial Estate, is widely expected to be placed into administration or liquidation next month, after directors for the company formally convened a creditors’ meeting on the 28th January amid debts of whats claimed to be over £2.5 million pounds.

Insolvent on Paper — Yet Still Trading

The most recent accounts filed for the year ended 31 March 2024 reveal that Buildroute Limited was already technically insolvent, with Total creditors said to be owed £2,730,843, Net liabilities of £201,525 & Over £2.4 million pounds owed within one year. In addition to the mountain of debts accrued, its claimed the business was operating on a dangerously negative working capital, meaning short-term debts vastly exceeded the firms available assets..

Where the Money Went

The balance sheet shows that while creditors piled up, tangible assets stood at just £284,621, mostly relating to plant and vehicles. Cash at bank was limited to just £146,851, amounting to just a fraction of what was owed.

The scale of unpaid trade debtors is reported to be around £2.54 million — money the company claimed was owed to it, but which clearly had not materialised in time to keep the business afloat, mirroring many of the issues blighting the UK Construction business across the country and seeing a number of similar sized firms going bust recently.

Director Loans Taken Out While Creditors Stacked Up

The Hartlepool Construction Firm Was said to be Drowning in Debt Months a Year Before Creditors Were Called

However, there's likely to be questions over the issuance of loans from the company to its directors, where the accounts disclose director loan balances in excess of £99,000, a detail likely to attract significant scrutiny once insolvency practitioners formally take control, where in any proposed liquidation of a business, such balances are examined closely to determine whether repayments should be pursued — particularly where ordinary creditors have been left facing substantial losses.

The Teesside & Durham Post understands that an official notice published recently confirms that directors have convened a virtual meeting of creditors for the 28th January 2026, under Section 100 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The notice confirms that Shareholders will first be asked to approve a voluntary winding-up of the business, with Creditors then be asked to appoint liquidators...

Its understood Emma Mifsud and Mark Nicholas Ranson are to act as Insolvency Practitioners in relation to the above company...