A renewable energy company with construction and aggregates arms has gone into administration.
Hive Energy Ltd, which described having more than 180 companies within its group in its accounts, filed for administration last month.
The firm, which turned over £7.2m in the year to 31 March 2024, appointed administrators from PwC on 24 March.
Company accounts describe Ethical Power as the group’s associated construction business and state that it turned over £144m in its 2023/24 financial year.
Gunning Transmission & Distribution Services Ltd, the main entity within the Ethical Power Group, which was ultimately 50 per cent-owned by Hive Energy, went into administration in January.
The business specialised in specialist high-voltage transmission and distribution works, including substation construction.
A report from Interpath said that the business struggled with cost overruns and liquidated damages claims from customers, which significantly impacted cashflow and its financial position.
A winding-up petition in November led to bank account being frozen, it added.
The majority of Gunning’s business and assets were subsequently sold in a pre-pack deal to Strabag UK for just £1m.
Its last published accounts for the year to 31 August 2024 stated it turned over £96.5m and made a pre-tax profit of £581,800.
In February, Hive Energy published a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
At the time, chief executive Giles Redpath told power trade publication Energy Voice that the move was necessary because Hive was a parental company guarantor for Ethical Power and its customers had “started to call on assurities and bonds which they class insolvent”.
He described the move as an opportunity to look at restructuring and the company told other outlets that the move did not mean Hive Energy would enter administration.
Hive Energy’s other divisions included Hive Aggregates, which aimed to create low-carbon cement from pulverised fuel ash waste extracted from landfill sites.
It won planning permission to extract the material from a site in Retford, Nottinghamshire, in September 2024.
Government-owned body UK Export Finance (UKEF) helped HSBC UK deliver financial support to Hive Energy in November, so the company could scale up solar projects around the world.
A UKEF spokesperson said: “UKEF operates at no net cost and applies rigorous risk criteria to its transactions to ensure they are sustainable and protect taxpayers.”
PwC and Hive Energy have been approached for comment about the administration and to clarify the status of subsidiary businesses.
