Insolvency RecordCASE FILES

United Kingdom ยท Construction and facilities management

Carillion plc insolvency: proceedings and outcome

Carillion plc, a UK construction and outsourcing group with many public sector contracts, entered compulsory liquidation on 15 January 2018 on a petition brought by its directors. The High Court appointed the Official Receiver as liquidator and PwC partners as special managers to keep public services running. In April 2018 the Official Receiver estimated total liabilities of the liquidated UK companies at about 6.9 billion GBP.

Liquidated Carillion plc and other group companies, 46 in all on the special managers' list, were placed in compulsory liquidation with the Official Receiver as liquidator and PwC partners as special managers. By August 2018 agreements were in place to transfer all 278 group contracts to new providers, which the Official Receiver described as the largest ever trading liquidation in the UK.1,3

First filing15 January 2018
Liabilities reportedGBP about 6.9 billion
Proceedings1

Official Receiver estimate for the 27 liquidated UK companies, as reported by Wikipedia. The National Audit Office said 2.6 billion GBP of pension liabilities would be covered by the Pension Protection Fund. Figures as of April 2018.2

Proceedings

TypeCourt or bodyCaseFiled
Liquidation (compulsory)1High Court, with the Official Receiver as liquidator, England and Wales15 January 2018

Timeline

  1. The High Court appointed the Official Receiver as liquidator of Carillion plc and several subsidiaries, with PwC partners as special managers.1
  2. The Official Receiver estimated total liabilities of the 27 liquidated UK companies at 6.9 billion GBP.2
  3. The Official Receiver said agreements were in place to transfer the last of 278 Carillion contracts to new providers, ending the trading stage of the liquidation. 13,945 jobs were saved and 2,787 positions made redundant.3
  4. Latest compulsory liquidation date (Carillion Private Finance Limited) among the 46 group companies listed with the Official Receiver and special managers.1

Sources

  1. PwC UK, special managers, Carillion Group (special managers' information page) (27 October 2026)
  2. Wikipedia, Carillion (27 October 2026)
  3. The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK), Carillion contracts complete transfer (6 August 2018)