IN Brief:
- ISG administrators report £45.5m in cumulative recoveries across the eight companies that entered administration in September 2024.
- The engineering and construction divisions account for the largest reported recovery totals, including settlement and debt collection proceeds.
- Unsecured creditor claims are estimated at £885m, with administrators not expecting funds for non-preferential unsecured distributions.
EY administrators have reported total recoveries of £45.5m across eight former ISG businesses, two years after the construction group entered administration. The latest figures cover the period to 19 September 2026 and include money collected from outstanding debts, contract retentions, and settlements. The recovery total has increased, but the administrators still do not expect enough funds to make a distribution to ordinary unsecured trade creditors.
The eight companies entered administration on 20 September 2024, with their UK construction and related operations ceasing immediately. They cover construction, engineering services, fit out, and retail activities, as well as associated group functions. Recoveries and claims are administered through the individual company estates, so a sum collected for one business does not automatically become available to creditors of another.
The latest reported totals comprise approximately £17.8m for ISG Engineering Services, £12.1m for ISG Construction, £7.7m for fit-out operations, and £7.9m for retail-related businesses including logistics and distribution. Together they amount to £45.5m across the eight administrations. The engineering division has provided the largest reported recovery total.
Nearly £7m was recovered during the six months ending 19 September 2026, including a £5m instalment that completed a £10m settlement of an engineering division claim. The receipt increased the estate’s recovered assets while preferential claims, administration expenses, and other priorities still stood ahead of ordinary unsecured creditors. The administrators continue to anticipate no distribution to that creditor class.
ISG Retail received a further £1.6m on 22 September after an adjudication decision. The money arrived three days after the reporting cut-off and is excluded from the £45.5m total. It is expected to appear in the next reporting period alongside any other subsequent recoveries.
Estimated unsecured creditor claims across the companies amount to £885m. HM Revenue & Customs has preferential claims of approximately £91m and is expected to receive only a partial recovery. Trade suppliers and subcontractors are exposed through their claims against particular group companies, with payment prospects governed by each estate’s recovered assets and creditor ranking.
Outstanding payments for completed work, retentions, and disputed contract claims can remain recoverable after construction activity stops. Administrators may pursue them through negotiations, adjudication, or litigation, depending on the claim and the parties involved. The £5m engineering settlement and subsequent retail adjudication receipt are examples of how that process continues well after ISG’s sites closed. For a contractor in administration, the recoverable amount is not necessarily the face value of an outstanding invoice: the validity of the claim, contractual set-offs, and the cost and risk of enforcement may all affect the outcome. These factors can make collection work continue through several reporting periods.
The administrators are pursuing further higher-value claims with legal advisers, specialists, and former staff. Recoveries from those matters will depend on settlement or the outcome of proceedings, leaving both the eventual amount and timing uncertain. Their latest assessment nevertheless indicates that ordinary unsecured creditors are unlikely to receive a dividend.
Recorded administration time costs total approximately £11.03m across 16,262.7 hours, with additional expenses of around £14.57m. The combined £25.6m includes legal, professional, litigation, and other administration expenditure recorded across the eight businesses. These are reported estate costs, distinct from the funds available for distribution under each company’s statutory payment priorities.
A High Court decision in September 2026 extended the administration period until 19 September 2028, allowing office-holders to continue pursuing outstanding matters. That extension provides time for the legal work and resolution of claims; the businesses have ceased trading and there is no proposal to restart their former construction operations.
Subcontractors and suppliers affected by the collapse may have incurred costs for labour, materials, or completed work before payments stopped in September 2024. Their claims are assessed against the individual contracting company and paid, if funds permit, according to the relevant insolvency priorities. The £885m unsecured claims estimate describes the scale of creditor exposure across the group, rather than a liability secured by the recovery total. Even where a trade creditor has an admitted claim, payment depends on the funds remaining after claims with higher statutory priority are dealt with. That distinction explains why further receipts have not changed the administrators’ assessment of ordinary unsecured dividends.
The next reports should account for the £1.6m retail receipt and any settlements achieved after 19 September 2026. Current recoveries stand at £45.5m, with further legal work underway and no ordinary unsecured dividend expected. The administration therefore remains an active financial process for the former group’s creditors more than two years after construction stopped.
