Carillion: How a £5bn Government Contractor Collapsed With £29m in the Bank

In 2016 Carillion reported £5.2 billion of revenue, a £16 billion order book and yet another dividend increase. It held about 450 government contracts and employed 43,000 people. MPs found it had paid £441 million in dividends against £246 million of pension deficit repair, made suppliers wait 120 days, and booked optimistic profits on contracts that were losing money. In July 2017 an £845 million provision wiped out years of profit, and in January 2018 it went into compulsory liquidation with £29 million of cash and nearly £7 billion of liabilities. Here is the full rise and ruin of Carillion, told with charts built from its results and the MPs' report, plus the lessons for anyone running a business. 0:00 Intro 1:09 Part 1: The rise 2:29 Part 2: Paying out 3:57 Part 3: The cracks 4:55 Part 4: The fall 7:33 Why Carillion really failed 8:35 Lessons for your business SOURCES (all charts and timelines are our own, made from these): UK House of Commons Work and Pensions and BEIS Committees: Carillion: report, chapter 1 (Carillion plc: dividends, pensions, accounting) https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm20... UK House of Commons Work and Pensions and BEIS Committees: Carillion: report, introduction and chronology https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm20... Carillion plc via Investegate (RNS): Carillion final results 2016 https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement... Carillion plc via Investegate (RNS): Carillion final results 2013 https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement... Sharecast: Carillion shares jump on strong revenue growth https://sharecast.com/amp/news/news-and-an... Building: Carillion posts solid results for 2015, but profit slides in UK and Canada construction https://building.co.uk/news/carillion-cons... ITV News: Carillion's board presided over 'rotten corporate culture', say MPs https://www.itv.com/news/2018-05-16/carill... The Construction Index: Carillion report: conclusions and recommendations https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/new... Express & Star: More than one in 10 Carillion staff now made redundant https://expressandstar.com/news/business/2... Construction Enquirer: Carillion liquidator to claw back £510m https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/... Civil Service World: Auditor KPMG hit with record £21m fine for Carillion failings https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professi... Express & Star: Carillion finance directors fined and banned by accountancy watchdog https://www.expressandstar.com/uk-news/car... Wikipedia (used as a pointer): Carillion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillion UK House of Commons Work and Pensions and BEIS Committees: Carillion: report, board and Middle East contract explanation https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm20... Figures are in nominal pounds sterling unless stated, and come from the filings and reports above. Some series mix restated years; see the sources for detail. This video is commentary and education, not financial advice. Narration uses an AI voice. #Carillion #BusinessHistory #RiseAndRuin