Laid Off?

[orangeman]

See Taggart Holdings has gone into administration. Maybe the fancy dan that runs it will have to cancel Lionel Richie for his xmas party and downsize to Malachi Cush!

Lionel Richie for his xmas party ?



You're taking the piss !

[Maroon Heaven]

I see the Irish News are saying this morning that another 2 well known builders in the north will be going to the wall.....

Not good news....


Am Sorry to hear about Taggart Holdings, Michael Taggart was always a good man for a lift in the Olde Helicopter if you needed somewhere in a hurry

[aontroim]

Taggart going into administration will mean tough times for a lot of tradesmen about mid-ulster and further afield - black friday could be very black for a lot of lads this Christmas.  When will the helicopter be going up on eBay??

[Donagh]

Michael Taggart was always a good man for a lift in the Olde Helicopter if you needed somewhere in a hurry

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay
For twenty years I served the best I could
Now with a handshake and a check it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through the bad times and through good
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad
But the captains of industry won't let him lose
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar
And still he takes his family on a cruise, he'll never lose

[orangeman]

I see the Irish News are saying this morning that another 2 well known builders in the north will be going to the wall.....

Not good news....


Am Sorry to hear about Taggart Holdings, Michael Taggart was always a good man for a lift in the Olde Helicopter if you needed somewhere in a hurry

Any ideas on who they are ??

[dodo]

I've worked till the sweat near had me bet with Russian, Czech and Pole
On shuddering jams up in the hydro dams or underneath the Thames in a hole
I grafted hard and I've got me cards and many a gangers fist across me ears
If you pride your life, don't join, by Christ, with McAlpine's Fusiliers

[Tony Baloney]

See Taggart Holdings has gone into administration. Maybe the fancy dan that runs it will have to cancel Lionel Richie for his xmas party and downsize to Malachi Cush!

Lionel Richie for his xmas party ?



You're taking the piss !

Yes about the Xmas party, but he had Lionel and Van The Man playing at his wedding a couple of years back. I don't think he'll get much sympathy but I have a feeling the little man employed by him will feel the pinch at the end of it all rather than Mr. Taggart.

[orangeman]

See Taggart Holdings has gone into administration. Maybe the fancy dan that runs it will have to cancel Lionel Richie for his xmas party and downsize to Malachi Cush!

Lionel Richie for his xmas party ?



You're taking the piss !

Yes about the Xmas party, but he had Lionel and Van The Man playing at his wedding a couple of years back. I don't think he'll get much sympathy but I have a feeling the little man employed by him will feel the pinch at the end of it all rather than Mr. Taggart.

How much would Lionel and Van the Man be for a wedding gig ?

£5k a piece

[Tony Baloney]

Add another 2 zeroes - I reckon half a mill might get you the pair.

[under the bar]

I see the Irish News are saying this morning that another 2 well known builders in the north will be going to the wall.....

Taggart homes situation has been well known for most of a year now.  Many more to follow in the next 6-12 months.  I know of 6 who will be going into administration.  Just think of the developers that were building houses at the fastest rate.  All are teetering if not already over the brink.

[Rois]

Lionel and Van Morrison are a myth apparently.  Cara Dillon may have been the only one.

No surprise that it's happened to Taggarts. 

I think our corporate recovery dept are feeling a bit like ambulance chasers these days but if recovery specialists are called in early enough, it's sometimes enough to save them. 

[Over the Bar]

are the positions in the oil fields up there and are you working there?

The oil sands have lain dormant for decades as the price of oil did not make it economical to extract. 
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/20/60minutes/main1225184.shtml

Now they can't extract it fast enough with 100's of oil-workers arriving every week causing a huge shortage of houses, roads, schools etc in Northern Alberta.  It's like the gold rush all over again.    Many run of the mill businesses from all over Canada relocating there to take advantage of the situation.

I've relations in Fort McMurray who moved there from Ontario.  They say that joiners, plasters and other construction industry workers are in very high demand and getting top dollar.

[rrhf]

Taggarts & A House Deal With A Difference
Michael Taggart, like others in the property business, has an unassuming way.
He might have arrived in Belfast from Derry by helicopter for this meeting, but there's nothing flash or ostentatious about the North West-based businessman who heads up Taggart Holdings alongside his brother John.
He's also more open and forthcoming than some of his property counterparts about his business, his plans and how things work in the group he controls
Taggart Holdings might not be a household name....yet. But it made the headlines last summer when it clinched the biggest deal to hit the residential property land market here.
On the last business day of June, it completed the purchase of Fraser Estates Ltd from Fred Fraser and his family in a deal backed by Goodbody Stockbrokers and financed by Bank of Ireland in Belfast.
That meant that 87 acres of residential development land in Castlereagh Borough and in Coleraine changed hands at a stroke.
It's just the latest big deal for a company which has been growing rapidly in recent years.
Founded in 1989 by John & Michael Taggart, the company initially built houses in its native North West. Today it is active in Northern Ireland, in the Republic, in the UK (where it is based in Manchester) and overseas....the group has interests in Florida, Eastern Europe and as far afield as New Zealand.
And these days it can point to a turnover of some £120 million.
Taggart Holdings has been particularly active in the past year or so. Aside from the big Fraser Estates landbank deal, it acquired a home building firm in the North East of England earlier this year.
Cecil M Yuill, based in Hartlepool, employed 200 and building some 300 units a year, was snapped up for around £60 million.
It's also believed that Taggart Holdings was the key underbidder in one of the Republic's biggest property deals of recent years, the sale of the Jury's Ballsbridge site in Dublin in which the successful bidder was the Dublin-based developer Sean Dunne.
"We've been very focused on growth through acquisitions, and I think we will continue to be focused in that direction," says Michael Taggart. "We have split out business into the NI, ROI and Manchester operating regions, and they will be where we will concentrate.
"At the same time, we have three distinct dimensions to our wider business. The first, and the biggest, is house building which is our core and always has been. The second is land acquisition and processing...to feed the house building operation, of course. And the third is commercial property. We're becoming more and more involved in commercial investment and development."
The big Northern Ireland landbank deal had its roots, according to Michael Taggart, in a long-standing relationship he has had with Fred Fraser, the founder of the house building firm responsible for thousands of homes around Northern Ireland.
"I first dealt with Fred back in 1997 when we bought 50 acres in Derry's Waterside from him. He drives a hard bargain, he doesn't suffer fools lightly but we got on well. We kept in touch since then and I suppose we were always there or thereabouts when he decided to find a buyer."
But, friends or no friends, Taggarts still had to go through the formal bid process.
"We bid more than anyone else and we got the deal," says Michael Taggart in the sort of matter-of-fact style which typifies the man.
But Fred Fraser being Fred Fraser, there was a catch. He set a strict deadline for when he wanted the money in his bank account....allowing two weeks for all the fund raising, due diligence and legal work to be completed.

"It was a hell of a tall order, but I was amazed at how Bank of Ireland and the other team members managed to pull it off. It was very impressive," says Taggart.
Bank of Ireland, represented by Director Julie-Ann O'Hare, saw the deal through from beginning to end in a matter of four working days.....which is exceptional given the level of funding involved.
"It shows what can be done from Belfast and it shows what can be achieved by assembling a really professional team," says Julie-Ann. "As a bank, we believed in this deal right from the start, given our in house knowledge of the residential sector. We had confidence in the market and in Taggarts' ability to deliver."
"Mind you, we don't want all of our customers to come to us with the same timescales now that we've let the cat out of the bag!"
The other members of the Taggarts deal team were Dublin-based Goodbody Stockbrokers, KPMG's corporate finance team and a legal team from the Belfast office of solicitors Tughans. Mills Selig represented the vendors with Arthur Cox acting for the bank.
"We all had to work late nights – and through the night for some – to get the deal done. That's not unusual in deals of this scale, but the Fraser deadline did add a certain element of urgency, let's just say," adds Julie-Ann O'Hare.
"I think that this deal represented a big vote of confidence in Northern Ireland. The fact that it was driven by a Northern Ireland team made a difference. We were quicker on our feet and got our heads round the deal in record time."
Michael Taggart adds his own theory with a smile. "Fred Fraser wanted the money in his account on a Thursday evening rather than a Friday because he didn't want to lose a day's interest....."
Taggart is a man who doesn't exactly court publicity. But he isn't shy of it either. His group has a comprehensive and impressive website (www.taggartholdings.com) which includes some key financial information, and, in a move which goes against the publicity-shy grain of the property sector, he even held a press conference to announce his North-East of England acquisition earlier this year.
"We're not a PLC. We're still a private company but we're not afraid of inviting people in to take a look. We've always preferred the open and transparent approach."
His firm now has 87 acres in the Cairnshill & Saintfield Road areas of South Belfast; at Carryduff; in Dundonald and up in Coleraine to build on.
Despite the general suspicion that some house builders aren't rushing into development because of views over house price trends, Michael Taggart says that they will be building houses on the new land as soon as possible.

"OK, it might take us four or five years to complete the entire job, but we'll be starting soon and phasing the developments the way we always do."
Figures published just this month by Bank of Ireland show just how fast moving the housing marketplace has been. For the first time in memory, house prices hit in excess of 30% growth levels in the quarter immediately after the deal....a remarkable statistic by any measure.
Michael Taggart, meanwhile, is getting used to impressive statistics. He might be proud of the fact that he's pulled off the biggest residential land deal in Northern Ireland....but he's also pragmatic.

"If it's a record, it's a record which won't last too long. Mark my words....."
Business eye - December 2006.

Terrible news for all involved.  The banks, the banks, the banks.......

[Gabriel_Hurl]

I've relations in Fort McMurray who moved there from Ontario.  They say that joiners, plasters and other construction industry workers are in very high demand and getting top dollar.

There's no life up there though - these lads are working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, 6 weeks on - 2 weeks off

[Donagh]

There's no life up there though - these lads are working 12 hours a week, 6 weeks on - 2 weeks off

Sounds okay to me