Modular construction firm Elements Europe enters administration

Construction workers assembling modular wooden home in factory with tools and scaffolding. Image: Adobe Stock, generated with AI

The company was set up in 2005 and traded from a manufacturing facility in the UK. It specialised in off-site volumetric design and manufacturing of room modules and bathroom pods for use in residential developments, student accommodation, and hotels across the UK.

In 2019 it was taken over by South Korean-based construction giant GS Engineering & Construction.

Interpath have now been appointed joint administrators, saying 141 staff have been made redundant with 76 retained to assist with the administration process.

Interpath said the firm had historically acted as a subcontractor but four years ago took on two construction projects as main contractors in the UK: one in London called the East Road Project and a project called Camp Hill in Birmingham.

What’s next for modular construction? The trend – which goes by many names – sees continued annual growth, but will modular building ever reach mass adoption? Mitchell Keller reports

According to Interpath, “both these contracts have incurred losses, resulting in a significant cash requirement. In response, the directors sought to explore options for the sale, investment, and/or refinancing of the Company; however, when it became clear that a solvent outcome was not possible, the directors took steps to protect the interest of creditors by placing the Company into Administration.”

Work on the East Road Project and Camp Hill in Birmingham will be paused.

In its last set of results, filed last October for the year to December 2023, Elements Europe saw turnover nearly double to £42 million (US$56 million) but pre-tax losses increased from £5.8 million ($7.8 million) to £29 million ($39 million).