GUERNSEY firms have only a remote chance of recouping any of the money they are owed by Byword Construction. The Bristol-based company stopped trading last month owing more than £200,000. A receiver has been called in.

Byword had contracts at the former Royal Hotel and Le Rondin School sites.

Bob Froome and Sons has been left £103,000 out of pocket. Partner Roger Froome said he did not expect to get anything back.

‘It sickens me. I have all but written it off and if I get anything out of it, I will be very surprised,’ said Mr Froome.

‘But I’m going to learn by my mistakes. I will not let it happen again.’

Local companies have pledged to get tough with UK contractors on large projects.

‘I will ask for money up front for anything big – we can’t afford to get caught out like that again,’ said Mr Froome.

‘We will also carry out stringent financial checks but how good that is in this day and age I don’t know.

‘We have all been too trusting in the past and have always done our best for people like this, but now we have to get tough.

‘I think everybody is learning the lesson – but the hard way. I believe people will tighten up. They are going to have to.’

His company paid all the tipping fees on Byword contracts.

‘I have paid £50,000 to the States. I won’t do it again. I will get people to open their own account for tip fees,’ said Mr Froome.

Clifton-based Mazars Accountants has been appointed as receiver.

‘Byword Construction is in a serious financial position and has substantial cash flow difficulties,’ said its Tim Ball.

He confirmed that the company had contract debts in both the UK and Guernsey which ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

‘I would not want to say at this stage whether there will be any funds for the creditors – it’s very difficult to say as it’s very early in the receivership. It’s not something that anybody should rely on,’ he said.

He said that a bank was owed a lot of money and was a secured creditor.

There are also preferential creditors who would be paid ahead of the trades and services suppliers such as the Guernsey firms.

‘They are unsecured creditors and unfortunately they come after the secured and preferential creditors,’ said Mr Ball.

‘Their chances are diminished by that and the fact we don’t know how much money will be in the receivership.’

He was awaiting the directors’ statement of affairs which should include estimates about what should be in the receivership and how much was owed. It was hoped this would be known by next week.

BLOB United Carpentry and Formwork Contractors was owed more than £70,000 for work on the former Royal site.

Charlie Kingsman’s steel-fixing firm has put in a claim for about £39,000 for work on the same site and for a further £11,000 for completed work at the St Martin’s Medical Centre.