McGill, lately registered as McGill Facilities Management Ltd, officially entered administration on August 25th for the second time in less than four years.

According to Mr Carling, banks refused to provide financing to the company despite £45m worth of contracts having been secured over the next several years. He said the business became a “victim of its own success”, placing it in a high-risk category in the eyes of banks as it grew so fast.

Barry Stewart and George Lafferty of Leonard Curtis, who were appointed joint administrators, are still working out the complete picture of McGill’s debts.

Mr Carling told The Courier “our total investment loss is £2.2m,” saying “we put money in to keep McGill going as long as possible.”

He noted: “And maybe we shouldn’t have because ultimately we’ve had to write that investment off and take it on the chin. Everyone is wiser after the event.”

Some jobs at McGill were rescued after the fire and security division of the company was successfully sold.

Mr Carling added: “Mcgill was all trades, reactive maintenance, very cash intensive in terms of materials and quite low margin. We are looking at more specialist businesses.”