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Grenfell contractor expects to avoid fine
The company which oversaw the 2016 refurbishment of Grenfell Tower does not expect to face a fine as a result of the fire.
Rydon Group announced in its annual accounts that it had made £9.2m profit in the year ended 30 September 2017.
A Rydon spokesperson, however, said its total profit was £19m, a 50% increase on the previous year. This was the figure for Rydon Holdings, which is technically the parent company of Rydon Group.
The company said it had made no provision in its accounts for any costs arising from the blaze in June last year, which killed 72 people.
Rydon’s statement read: “The Grenfell Tower tragedy is rightly the subject of what is expected to be a rigorous public inquiry, as well as other ongoing investigations, all of which Rydon welcomes.
“Rydon has reviewed the specific work carried out by Rydon Maintenance Limited and given the limited nature of the work commissioned, the approvals received in relation to it and the inter-relationship with work undertaken by other parties, no provision has been made in the accounts for any matters arising from these tragic events.”
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Ordinarily, if a company believed there was a risk, it would have to pay out a large amount of money in the near future, it would provide for this in its accounts.
Grenfell’s refurbishment has been widely criticised following the deadly fire. It involved attaching cladding to the outside of the building made of a material which has since failed government safety tests.
It also involved the temporary removal of safeguards in every flat in the 24-storey tower designed to prevent fire spreading from floor to floor. Rydon sent a newsletter to residents telling them it intended to lay heating pipes in the floor of every flat.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
