Speller Metcalfe has been chosen as preferred contractor on a £24m leisure centre build that was due to be delivered by ISG.
Sandwell Council in the West Midlands is poised to sign off a plan to redesign and rebuild the Haden Hill Leisure Centre in Cradley Heath, after the scheme stalled when contracting giant ISG went into administration.
ISG was selected by developer Alliance Leisure in January 2024 to partly rebuild and refurbish the 49-year-old building, which suffered a ceiling collapse in its swimming pool area in 2023.
After its appointment, ISG told the client that its plan to incorporate a refurbishment would cost too much and recommended the demolition and complete rebuild of the facility.
A revised plan for the centre was due to be drafted by the end of September 2024, but the contractor collapsed that month, leaving dozens of jobs up in the air across the UK.
Sandwell Council officers said in a report to be discussed at a cabinet meeting next week: “While the administration was unwelcome, it was not catastrophic as ISG was not yet on site [so] the project remained recoverable via a replacement contractor.
“Furthermore, because procurement had been via a framework, the council was not in a direct contractual relationship with ISG.”
Alliance Leisure has selected Speller Metcalfe as preferred contractor, the report added. The Worcestershire-headquartered firm has since joined the design team and collaborated on a proposed programme and cost plan.
A planning application for the revised project was submitted in late December and validated by the council last week.
Funding for the job was set to come primarily from the government’s levelling-up fund, with Sandwell Council contributing £2m and Sport England another £2m.
Originally set to be completed by autumn 2026, the officers’ report said it was now hoped construction will start on site in November 2025 with the new centre handed over in May 2027.
Speller Metcalfe is headquartered in Malvern, Worcestershire, and operates in the Midlands and South West of England.
It turned over £132.6m in the year to 31 March 2024, generating a pre-tax profit of £1m.
ISG turned over £2.2bn and employed more than 3,000 people before its administration.
In October, Alliance Leisure named Universal Civils & Build as replacement contractor on another £24m leisure centre where ISG had been main contractor. The Clay Cross Active scheme in Chesterfield was part-completed at the time.
