THE financial fallout from the collapse of Exeter building firm Beale & Cole could put more city jobs at risk.

As many as 100 more jobs in firms that did business with Beale & Cole could go.

A number of city firms are owed substantial sums by the Marsh Barton firm, and they fear they have little chance of seeing much of their money.

As revealed in the Echo, Beale & Cole went into administration on Monday with the loss of 118 jobs. At least two major firms are said to be owed £100,000 and £150,000 for work done by the stricken company.

Among those known to be hit by the firm's collapse is Exeter's Project Heating, formed in 1981 by managing director David Tripp, which has built up a strong reputation in the heating and plumbing trade.

Mr Tripp, whose Marsh Barton firm employs about ten staff, said: "We have certainly been caught out by the collapse. We are in for the best part of £30,000, which is a lot of money to us.

"We are not a big company. We have a turnover of around £1.5million a year and will find this a massive strain. We carried out work for them for underfloor heating at a Dawlish school.

"We were stung for more than £80,000 by three building firms collapsing last year, one owed us £70,000, one owed us £11,000 and the third a few hundred pounds.

We managed that somehow, largely because we had a good year in the end, but it is a struggle to make ends meet.

"We go to the bottom of the heap as unsecured creditors and this could wipe out our entire year's profit. I know other local suppliers have been hit by this too, one for £100,000 and another for £150,000. It is very grim."

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon & Cornwall Business Council, said Beale & Cole was a long-established firm which had developed a deep relationship with local suppliers and contractors.

"There was a wide range of small businesses in that network and I expect the repercussions on the closure will radiate out and lead to perhaps another 100 jobs being lost."

Mr Jones said the collapse of Beale & Cole also showed how much the building trade depended on public spending, such as schools, road and hospitals — the sort of projects hit by public spending cuts.

It has emerged that last-ditch negotiations saved 22 jobs from the wreckage of Beale & Cole.

The jobs saved were in the servicing sector of the company and have been taken on by Integral UK, a maintenance service company.

Administrator Mark Roach said the company had 140 staff with offices in Exeter, Plymouth and Yeovil.

The company had been attempting to sell the business over the last few weeks but that had proved unsuccessful.

He said: "The majority of the business has ceased trading with 118 with staff being made redundant."

He said that Integral, which has a Bristol office, had bought the service and maintenance arm as a going concern, saving 22 of the jobs.