Carillion was the UK construction company that collapsed in 2018 with billions of pounds in liabilities.
Created in 1999 through a demerger from Tarmac, Carillion grew into a major construction, civil-engineering and facilities-management group. It worked on public infrastructure and services, including schools, hospitals, transport projects and government contracts.
The company issued profit warnings in 2017 as cost overruns, weak cash generation and mounting debt exposed problems in major long-term contracts. On 15 January 2018, Carillion entered compulsory liquidation rather than administration. Later estimates put the liabilities of its liquidated UK companies at about £6.9 billion.
The collapse affected employees, pensioners, subcontractors, banks and public bodies. Around 27,000 people were members of its defined-benefit pension schemes, while roughly 30,000 suppliers and subcontractors were exposed to unpaid bills. Interserve is a common mix-up: it faced severe financial trouble later, but it was Carillion that entered liquidation in January 2018.