I wish we’d acted sooner, admits ex-Carillion chief
BOSSES of construction giant Carillion yesterday gave MPs a string of excuses for the company’s collapse.
Former interim chief executive officer Keith Cochrane admitted he should have acted sooner but company finance chief denied being “asleep at the wheel”.
Ex-chairman Philip Green said he would take the blame but denied “culpability”.
Mr Cochrane told MPs from the Commons business and pensions committees that all decisions had been in the best interests of the company.
But he added: “The business had issues. Do I wish we had done something about it sooner? Absolutely.”
The grilling of former bosses came after the outsourcing and construction giant, which employed nearly 18,000 people in Britain, collapsed in January with nearly £900million of debt.
Former finance chief Zafar Khan insisted he “did everything” he could have done and expressed surprise over the company’s liquidation.
He said Carillion had been grappling with mounting debt, under-performing contracts, a tough construction market and uncertainties around Brexit.
He told MPs: “I don’t believe I was asleep at the wheel. The key focus of my time in the role was to bring net debt down.”
The executives brushed off suggestions Carillion was looking out for shareholders at the expense of employees after paying dividends while reporting a pension deficit of £587million in 2017.
Mr Cochrane said cancelling the £50million dividend would not have had a significant impact on company finances.
Carillion’s pension schemes are being transferred to the public Pension Protection Fund.