KPMG told to expect £250m claim for Carillion collapse

Accounting giant KPMG is expected to be told to pay £250m for its role in the collapse of outsourcing firm Carillion, its former client, in 2018.

On behalf of the Insolvency Service, lawyers have warned KPMG to expect a claim. The expected move is part of an effort to reclaim funds that will be used to repay companies Carillion owed money to, according to multiple media reports this evening.

KPMG will also face a lawsuit after it was alleged it failed to properly examine Carillion’s accounts.

Carillion collapsed in January 2018 with liabilities of almost £7bn. The group’s failure was the largest corporate collapse in the building and construction industry in UK history.

Alongside creating uncertainty for over 3,000 jobs, the collapse cost taxpayers £162m. It also impacted more than 450 major public-sector projects, including hospitals in Liverpool and Birmingham and the HS2 rail project.

Over three years after the collapse, Carillion’s liquidation is still ongoing.

The Insolvency Service and Carillion did not comment on the development.