Building firm Rok calls in administrators

PwC said it was looking for a buyer for the self-styled ''nation's local builder'' after the Exeter-based firm fell into difficulties in meeting its ''financial obligations''.

Rok has a large base in Whitely.

Mike Jervis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: ''Employees will naturally be concerned about their position, but they will continue to be paid if they attend work and perform their duties as normal.''

The announcement comes just months after Rok revealed sizeable half-year losses, and an independent review by accountants BDO uncovered serious failings at its plumbing, heating and electrical business.

The group follows in the footsteps of rival social housing firm Connaught, which entered administration in September - leading to some 1,400 redundancies.

Rob Hunt, Mike Jervis and Jeremy Webb, of PwC, were appointed joint administrators of Rok, which provides repair and maintenance to schools, councils and housing associations, and said further updates would be given throughout the coming weeks.

It is understood PwC was also hired in September to look at Rok's accounts ahead of refinancing talks with its lenders.

Chief executive Garvis Snook took over the running of the firm in 2000, when it was known as Exeter Building Contractors (EBC).

The company was losing money and had a huge pension deficit, but by 2007 Mr Snook had turned it around, and it was on the brink of listing on the FTSE 250.

Mr Snook, who penned the firm's slogan, took Rok from a company with a market value of £7 million as EBC to £322 million. The company deals with a wide range of services from general repairs to medium-sized construction, and has some 30 regional bases.

But the company was hit hard during the financial crisis, when it lost several private and public clients, and was forced to cut some 750 jobs.

Extreme weather conditions hit Rok and the rest of the industry earlier in the year, and life worsened for the firm in April, when it said profitability would be hit by a number of ''under-performing'' contracts in its PHE arm.

The firm undertook a restructuring of the division and terminated the troublesome contracts before appointing BDO to conduct the review into the division.

Rok suspended group finance director Ashley Martin during BDO's review. But when the investigation closed, the board lifted the suspension, and emphasised that Mr Martin was never accused of any wrongdoing and added ''nor have our investigations revealed any evidence of any malpractice''.

In a statement Rok said: ''The board finds it regrettable if there has been any damage to Ashley's good reputation by any speculation outside of the company to the contrary.''

Despite this, Mr Martin resigned from the firm and said it was ''untenable'' to continue at Rok.

Mr Snook bought £50,000 worth of shares with his own money after the review findings were published to show confidence in the business. He was hopeful that a strong order book worth some £435 million would pull it through.