黑洞社区

Laing O鈥橰ourke is mothballing its loss-making housing business Explore Living due to 鈥渃ontinuing uncertainty鈥� in the UK housebuilding market.

The UK鈥檚 largest private contractor said it is completing only those developments currently on site and will pause any future phases until market confidence improves.

Laing O鈥橰oruke said it expected this period of inactivity to extend 鈥渇or a minimum of two years鈥� due to the government鈥檚 austerity measures and the scarcity of mortgage lending.

Staff will be transferred to other parts of the business where possible, with a small number of redundancies.

The division鈥檚 chairman Paul Healey and managing director Karl Pickering are departing the business.

Laing O鈥橰ourke is mothballing its loss-making housing business Explore Living due to 鈥渃ontinuing uncertainty鈥� in the UK housebuilding market.

The UK鈥檚 largest private contractor said it is completing only those developments currently on site and will pause any future phases until market confidence improves.

Laing O鈥橰oruke said it expected this period of inactivity to extend 鈥渇or a minimum of two years鈥� due to the government鈥檚 austerity measures and the scarcity of mortgage lending.

Staff will be transferred to other parts of the business where possible, with a small number of redundancies.

Explore Living made a loss of 拢3.5m on a turnover of 拢19m for the year ending 31^st March 2011. It lost 拢6.5m off a turnover of 拢33.8m the previous year.

The firm said in a statement: 鈥淎s projects complete on their current phases of work, Explore Living employees will be transferred onto other projects elsewhere within the Group where it is feasible for them to do so. 

鈥淗owever, an unfortunate consequence will be that a small number of redundancies will result from this decision, although we will seek to minimise the impact on affected individuals to the greatest extent possible.鈥�

The firm added its Explore Investments and PFI Investments subsidiaries were unaffected by the decision.

Explore Living made a loss of 拢3.5m on a turnover of 拢19m for the year ending 31^st March 2011. It lost 拢6.5m off a turnover of 拢33.8m the previous year.

The firm said in a statement: 鈥淎s projects complete on their current phases of work, Explore Living employees will be transferred onto other projects elsewhere within the Group where it is feasible for them to do so. 

鈥淗owever, an unfortunate consequence will be that a small number of redundancies will result from this decision, although we will seek to minimise the impact on affected individuals to the greatest extent possible.鈥�

The firm added its Explore Investments and PFI Investments subsidiaries were unaffected by the decision.