Under Siege
With multiple foes at its gates, UK demolition companies have two choices: Stand alone; or seek safety in numbers.
It currently feels as if the UK demolition industry is under siege; as if a conspiratorial and secret meeting was held and the sector’s fate decided and sealed without its prior knowledge.
The sector’s defences have already been battered, penetrated and weakened by a barrage of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown; by wage rises; by the abolition of the red diesel subsidy, retentions, late and non-payments. And now, the industry is caught in a pincer movement with the economy closing in on one flank and the environment on the brink of breaching the other.
There have been casualties already. Six UK demolition companies failing in the space of four months is unprecedented; and suddenly the demolition industry finds itself vulnerable to further attacks.
Faced by overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable odds, the industry has two realistic courses of action at its disposal. Individual companies can adopt an “every man for himself” strategy and hope that the endless attacks subside before it is their turn to succumb. Alternatively, the industry could unify; huddle together for succour and warmth; and seek safety in numbers.
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