What happened

Torsion Projects, the division of the Yorkshire-based Torsion Group that builds care homes and retirement living schemes, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. Construction Enquirer reported the filing this week, citing credit checking specialist Red Flag Alert's monitoring of High Court insolvency applications.

It follows sister company Torsion Construction into administration. That business collapsed in July, leaving subcontractors more than £15m out of pocket and resulting in around 115 redundancies. Torsion Projects is a smaller entity by comparison, with turnover of £47m and a pre-tax profit of £505,000 in its most recent filed accounts to December 2024, much of that work carried out for another group company, Torsion Care. Reports indicate other parts of the wider group, including its development and care home operating businesses, continue to trade.

Why it matters

Two arms of the same group filing within a few months of each other is a reminder that a collapse rarely stays contained to a single entity. Groups structured around related contracting, development and operating companies share cashflow, retentions and reputational risk across the group even when each business trades under its own name and files its own accounts. A subcontractor owed money by one Torsion entity will be watching every other name in the group closely right now.

Care homes and retirement living has been one of the steadier sub-sectors of UK construction, underpinned by an ageing population and consistent client demand, so this is not a story about that market drying up. It is a reminder that even in a sector with real demand, cost inflation and payment pressure can still bring a contractor down.

What it means for careers and hiring

For QSs, site managers and commercial staff who have worked across either Torsion Construction or Torsion Projects, what happens next on live sites, and whether any TUPE protection applies, will depend on whether a buyer or new contractor steps in to complete current schemes. The wider lesson for anyone considering a role at a multi-entity group is to check exactly which legal entity would employ them rather than relying on the group brand, given how differently these two sister companies' fortunes have diverged in a matter of months.

Skills built delivering care homes and retirement living schemes remain transferable and in demand elsewhere in the sector even if this particular employer does not survive intact, since client demand in that sub-sector has not gone away. Anyone affected should look at contractors with an established retirement living pipeline, such as those already delivering extra care and assisted living frameworks, as the most direct route to keep working in the same specialism.