Architectural firm in liquidation with loss of 130 jobs

HIGH-PROFILE architectural firm Murray Ó Laoire has gone into liquidation with the loss of almost 130 jobs.

The company cited cumulative bad debts, the difficult market and problems getting paid on time for the collapse of the business.

“The firm is unable to meet its current financial obligations as a result of cumulative bad debts and the ongoing difficulty of securing profitable work, as well as the increasing difficulties in getting paid on time or at all,” it said in a statement yesterday.

Murray Ó Laoire has offices in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Slovakia, Russia, Germany, Libya, Barbados and Abu Dhabi.

The company employs 127 people, with the majority of its staff based in Ireland.

All offices will be shut as the firm goes into liquidation, including its design and international subsidiaries.

A creditors’ meeting will be held in the coming days.

In September last year Murray Ó Laoire let 40 of its staff go as the slowdown in the building sector affected its business.

In October it reported a 58 per cent rise in profits to almost €1 million in 2008 despite a 4 per cent fall in turnover to €20.8 million. At the time, managing director Calbhac O’Carroll said the firm would make a loss for 2009, projecting a 35 per cent drop in turnover compared to 2008. However, he predicted a return to profit in 2010, with its focus turning to overseas markets in a bid to boost business.

The firm was involved in a number of high-profile projects in Ireland, including Thomond Park Stadium, the CIT Cork School of Music and the Green Building in Temple Bar, Dublin.

It was also selected as the preferred candidate to design the €750 million new Children’s Hospital of Ireland as part of a consortium with Brian O’Connell and NBBJ. The contract was announced in October 2009, and the hospital was due to open in 2014.

The Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) estimates that more than 50 per cent of all registered architects in the State are now out of work.

Director of the RIAI John Graby said Murray Ó Laoire was the third large practice to go out of business in recent month as a lack of credit and difficulties in getting paid negatively affected companies.

“If the present trends continue it’s going to be difficult for many firms,” he said. “The other side of it is in terms of the regulatory framework – planning systems, building regulations – has become complex and is so badly administered that’s also slowing down projects and causing a huge amount of extra work.”