90 jobs at risk after NI construction firm placed into administration

The Dunloy company, which was founded in 1979 as a small family-owned business, has three divisions - Dixons Construction, Dixons Homes and Dixons Facades.

The firm started out in the social housing sector but has since delivered many large projects across a wide range of markets including commercial, healthcare, education and leisure.

Commenting on the news of Dixons Contractors entering administration, Construction Employers Federation managing director John Armstrong said: “The news of this latest high profile administration within the industry will come as a major and unwelcome shock.

"Dixons Contractors have been a well-known name in the local market for approximately 40 years and, given their wide range of interests and expertise across social and private housing as well education, health and commercial projects, their administration will be a sizeable loss to the marketplace.

“As we have said before, the challenge of achieving sustainability in the construction market remains. Low margins, insufficient pipelines of activity for the bulk of mid-sized contractors and at times difficult relationships between clients and contractors are in no-one’s interests. It is extremely regrettable that we are, yet again, having to issue a statement like this”.

According to Dixons Contractors' webiste, the company's Dixons Homes division had nine private residential developments on site in 2018.

Speaking to the BBC, North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan said the news that Dixons Contractors had been placed into administration was "a major blow for the local economy in Dunloy and north Antrim".