Shannon Commercial Properties has confirmed it is seeking to appoint a new contractor to complete its first speculative new-build, a €10m state-of-the-art new office block, after the main contractor was forced in examinership.
Last month, the High Court appointed an interim examiner to Kildare based building contractors the Sammon Group which got into difficulty after the devastating collapse of UK construction giant Carillion.
The Sammon Group, which had been involved in several major projects across Ireland, sought the protection of the courts as it is owed some €8m by an entity involving Carillion.
Shannon Commercial Properties, part of the Shannon Group plc that also includes Shannon Airport, says its looking to find a replacement for Sammon Group but they don’t expect any significant delay with the completion of their project.
In March 2017, the sod was turned on the site in the Shannon Free Zone of a new €10m state-of-the-art office block. The Sammon Group was appointed main contractors for the project which involved the demolition of older buildings to make way for the new block.
The high-spec 55,000 sq ft facility, built to LEED (Leadership in energy and environmental design) Gold standards and located on the newly named Airport Avenue, is the first speculative new-build by Shannon Commercial Properties, a Shannon Group Plc company. The build is part of a €25 million first phase redevelopment programme at the Free Zone.
The site, located adjacent to Shannon Airport’s perimeter, will comprise four 13,500 sq ft. floors and is suitable for single or multiple tenancies.
While Sammon Group is no longer involved in the project some work is still being undertaken on site by other contractors.
A spokeswoman for Shannon Group said: “Shannon Commercial Properties is currently in the process of appointing a replacement contractor to complete the construction of its 56,000 sq ft office block at Shannon Free Zone following the termination of its sole contract with Sammon Contracting Ireland Limited as a result of the appointment of an examiner to Sammon.
“Shannon Commercial Properties anticipates that there will be no significant delay to the completion of the project. We had no other projects ongoing with Sammon,” the company confirmed.
Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes said: “The landscape at Shannon Free Zone is undergoing tremendous change under the direction of Shannon Commercial Properties who are mobilising every effort to increase Shannon’s appeal as an investment location.
Shannon Chamber is confident that the appointment of a new contractor to deliver the 56,000 sq ft building will enable the roll-out of yet another landmark facility at Shannon without any significant delay.