Jobs lost as fast growing Aspect Facades closes in the face of cash flow issues

Aspect Facades’ Newton Aycliffe base.

Cladding and roofing specialist Aspect Facades has collapsed into administration with the loss of 30 jobs.

Only months after the County Durham firm was named the North East’s fastest growing small business, insolvency experts have taken control of the business, which has stop trading. Administrators from FRP said Aspect had suffered problems largely due to delayed projects which impact cash flow.

Most recent accounts for the firm to the end of March 2022 show it was owed £1.5m, and owed roughly the same to creditors, due within the year. The closure comes not long after Aspect was crowned the fastest growing small business in the region as part of the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards.

The firm was set up in 2017 by co-founders Andrew Howe and Dan Parker, who wanted to bring innovation to the roofing and cladding industry having worked in construction before quitting their day jobs to move into contracting. Their first contract was worth around £15,000 and the business had since grown to deliver multimillion-pound contracts alongside well known names such as BAM Construction and Wates Construction. North East work included Framwell House in Durham, Spennymoor Football Club, Jarrow Hub and the City Green apartment building in Sunderland.

The business attracted £150,000 of funding through the North East Loan Fund and the North East Growth Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by NEL Fund Managers. In 2020, as a tranche of that investment landed, Aspect had talked of turnover of £2.5m and ambitions to break into the Scottish and Yorkshire markets with its design, supply, installation and maintenance of sustainable cladding and roofing systems.

Administrators are now marketing the assets of the Newton Aycliffe-based firm, which were reported as worth more than £225,000 in 2022.

Martyn Pullin, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Aspect Facades Limited, said: “Aspect Facades was a well-respected roofing and cladding specialist across the north of England – operating in the area for over seven years. Unfortunately, mounting external pressures, most notably delayed projects and rising costs, resulted in the business being unable to meet its financial obligations.

“Regrettably, this meant the necessary closure of the business. We are supporting the employees affected to file claims with the Redundancy Payments Services. We would encourage any parties with an interest in acquiring the assets to make contact with us as soon as possible.”