Construction firm ISG in administration despite current works on Bucks prisons
Around 2,400 employees have been made redundant.
Construction group ISG, which was in the middle of numerous government projects including work to prisons in Buckinghamshire, has collapsed into administration in the UK.
The majority of its 2,400 employees have been made redundant after the UK business appointed joint administrators at EY, and shut down its sites immediately.
ISG is involved in 69 central government projects totalling more than £1 billion, data analysts Barbour ABI said.
This incorporates 22 projects for the Ministry of Justice, including a £300 million prison extension to the Grendon and Springhill prisons in Buckinghamshire.
They're also partway through £155 million worth of work to expand three prisons in other locations.
The construction services company had been trying to find a buyer but failed to secure a suitable rescue deal, EY said.
A potential buyer "could not, despite repeated requests of them to do so, adequately demonstrate that they had the funding needed to recapitalise the business and keep it solvent", it added.
"Due to current market conditions, an alternative sale or additional funding could not be secured."
Around 200 employees will initially be kept on to assist the administrators in winding down the business.
ISG has worked on other large projects including building and refurbishments of police and fire stations, schools, and offices.
Barbour ABI's chief analyst Ed Griffiths said the live projects were "just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to ISG's portfolio of contracts, adding: "The ripple effect will be extremely worrying for the hundreds of subcontractors involved."
A spokesperson for the Government said: "We have implemented our detailed contingency plans and affected departments are working to ensure sites are safe and secure."
ISG is an London-based international company also operating across Europe and the Middle East.
Eight trading entities under the UK business, including its engineering and retail arms, have all been placed in administration.