Connaught former boss in triumphant email row

By SIMON NEVILLE
Updated:

An email from the former boss of social housing contractors Connaught trumpeting his confidence in the company emerged yesterday - just as hundreds of employees face redundancy in the wake of the group's collapse.

Just five months ago, the company's then boss told staff that Connaught would soon be one of the best employers in the country.

Mark Tincknell wrote: 'In the 28 years since Connaught started I've never been so confident about our future prospects.

On the skids: Connaught is now in administration, owing £220m

On the skids: Connaught is now in administration, owing £220m

'We have never had the calibre of management that we have in the business today and they will be making a tremendous impact in the forthcoming months. Rest assured we are in good shape.'

And he heaped criticism on a City expert for talking down the Connaught share price.

 

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Tincknell said: 'This is as a result of a fundamentally flawed and very mediocre analyst's note which simply repeated unfounded rumours and nonsense from the past, whilst getting the numbers wrong at the same time.

'A masterful feat of incompetence.'

Yet in June, Connaught was forced to issue a profits warning, the share price lurched downwards - and Tincknell stepped down as chief executive two weeks later. This week, Connaught collapsed with debts of £220million and in now in hands of administrator KPMG.

In his Easter missive, Tincknell said: '[We] are targeted on having Connaught included in the Sunday Times best companies to work for list by at least 2014.'

A first round of redundancies is expected to be announced later today as KPMG tries to find companies to take on contracts for work previously carried out by Connaught.

The compliance and environmental divisions of the business are not in administration and are expected to be sold shortly.

Its compliance arm, which advises companies on their health and safety obligations, was set up in 2007 when Connaught bought National Britannia in 2007 for around £91million.

Yesterday, one of the former owners of National Britannia who sold to Connaught, Anthony Record, said: 'Having built an established business I'm naturally pretty upset.

'The staff have not been very well informed.

'I've had old staff calling up worried about their jobs,' said Record.

'I'm incredibly disappointed. It's heartbreaking.'

Mark Tincknell was unavailable for comment.

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