EXETER: Rok said today that it had put the company into administration and made an application to the Financial Services Authority to suspend the listing and trading on the Stock Exchange.
"It is anticipated that the administration and suspension will become effective shortly," the company said in the statement.
The move follows weeks of rumours that the company was struggling in the maintenance sector already been hit by the collapse of Connaught.
Rok, which dubbed itself 'the nation's local builder', issued two profit warnings earlier this year, which it blamed on "operational and commercial weakness" from the scaling down of its work installing piping and heating in new homes.
Analysts said Rok's propensity for direct employment, rather than subcontracting labour, was a cause of its difficulties.
When Rok issued its profit warnings in August its shares fell 45% to 13p, giving the group a value of just £52m compared with a market capitalisation of £436m in 2007. The shares were suspended at 181/2p today, valuing the company's shares at £33.17m.
