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Melville Dundas

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Melville Dundas
IndustryConstruction
Founded1908
Defunct2003
Fateadministration
HeadquartersGlasgow
Key people
Alexander Dundas (Chairman 1908-1937)
Kenneth Dundas (Chairman 1937-1950)
King George V Bridge

Melville Dundas was a major Scottish construction company.

History

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The business was established by Alexander Dundas in 1908; it was incorporated as Melville Dundas & Whitson during 1932.[1] Kenneth Dundas took over as chairman of the business in 1937.[1] During the Second World War the company was one of the contractors engaged in building the Mulberry harbour units.[2]

During 1981, the company was acquired by F J C Lilley plc,[3] which traded as Lilley plc from April 1989.[4] until it went into receivership during January 1993.[5][6] Melville Dundas was bought out of receivership by its management team.[7][8] The revived company was able to achieve profitable operations early on.[9] In June 1999, the company recorded a pre-tax profit in excess of £1 million, a 24 per cent increase over the previous year.[10]

Record growth was achieved during 2000 although profitability decreased, which was attributed to protracted contractual negotiations.[11] As early as 2001, Melville Dundas had encountered financial hardship due to difficulties encountered in collecting due payments for jobs which were disputed.[12] During 2002, in response to declining turnover, the firm opted to focus on smaller and less risky jobs.[13][14] In July 2002, following a sharp drop in profits that placed the firm in breach of a covenant to its lenders, Melville Dundas was compelled to renegotiate the terms of its bank borrowings.[15]

During May 2003, Melville Dundas went into administration.[16][17] The auditing firm Ernst & Young was brought in to administrate the process; Carillion was amongst the several parties interested in acquiring assets that formerly comprised the company.[18][19] Ernst & Young partially attributed the collapse to the firm's management having overstated the value of multiple contracts.[20] In August 2003, a group of the company's creditors publicly called for an investigation into the collapse to be conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry.[21] Legal ramifications pertaining to employer payments, in spite of the firm's collapse, were still ongoing in late 2007.[22][23]

Projects

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Major projects undertaken by the company included the George V Bridge, Glasgow completed in 1928,[24] the Glasgow College of Building and Printing completed in 1964,[25] the extension to the Glasgow Dental Hospital and School completed in 1970,[26] University Hospital Crosshouse completed in 1978,[27] and the conversion of Queen's Hall, Edinburgh completed in 1979.[28]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b "Public works chairman: Mr Kenneth Dundas". The Glasgow Herald. 13 April 1950. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  2. ^ Hartcup 2011, p. 94.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Harold Whitson". Glasgow Herald. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Lilley fit and profitable". Glasgow Herald. 25 April 1989. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. ^ "No. 23303". The Edinburgh Gazette. 10 June 1948. p. 96.
  6. ^ "15Apr93 UK: SUBBIES OF FALLEN LILLEY WILL NOT GET A PENNY". constructionnews.co.uk. 15 April 1993.
  7. ^ "Lilley Construction ceases trading with loss of 190 jobs". heraldscotland.com. 23 January 2004.
  8. ^ "Melville Dundas contracts". heraldscotland.com. 31 August 1993.
  9. ^ "Melville Dundas turns in a profit of #278,000". heraldscotland.com. 11 May 1994.
  10. ^ "Melville Dundas builds up". heraldscotland.com. 22 June 1999.
  11. ^ "Interest charges weigh heavily on Melville Dundas". heraldscotland.com. 27 July 2002.
  12. ^ "Concerns mounting over Melville Dundas". heraldscotland.com. 23 May 2003.
  13. ^ "Dundas hits £12m target". constructionnews.co.uk. 27 September 2001.
  14. ^ "Turnover drops at Melville Dundas". constructionnews.co.uk. 22 August 2002.
  15. ^ "Interest charges weigh heavily on Melville Dundas". heraldscotland.com. 27 July 2002.
  16. ^ "300 jobs at risk as Melville Dundas falls into the hands of the receivers". Glasgow Herald. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Melville to shed 113 site workers". constructionnews.co.uk. 29 May 2003.
  18. ^ "Carillion set to pick up job from collapsed firm". constructionnews.co.uk. 5 June 2003.
  19. ^ "Firms eye up collapsed Glasgow contractor". building.co.uk. 23 January 2004.
  20. ^ "Lighthouse illuminates black hole in Melville Dundas books Receiver claims Arthur Andersen client overvalued contracts". heraldscotland.com. 31 May 2003.
  21. ^ "Melville Dundas creditors demand DTI investigation Role of bank in demise of builder is questioned". heraldscotland.com. 23 August 2003.
  22. ^ Davies, Jake (24 August 2007). "Clear as mud". building.co.uk.
  23. ^ Gould, Nicholas (16 November 2007). "Melville Dundas Ltd (in receivership) and Others vs George Wimpey UK Ltd and Others". building.co.uk.
  24. ^ "Melville Dundas & Whitson". 1930 Industrial Britain. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  25. ^ "College of Building and Printing". The Glasgow Story. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Melville Dundas & Whitson". Scottish Brutalism. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  27. ^ "Board told to reject faulty £10m hospital". The Glasgow Herald. 29 November 1978. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  28. ^ "The Story of the Queen's Hall" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.

Bibliography

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  • Hartcup, Guy (2011). Code Name Mulberry: The Planning Building and Operation of the Normandy Harbours. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1848845589.
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