The chief executive of building-control firm Assent has stepped down from his role, Construction News has learnt.
Companies House records show that, in the last week of July, Iain Thomson resigned from his director position at 17 linked firms where he was listed as CEO.
These included Assent Building Compliance, formerly known as Assent Building Control, and parent company Assent Building Compliance and Safety Group, which was previously called Alphabet BC.
He also resigned as director of registered building-control approvers (RBCAs) LB Building Control, Oculus Building Consultancy, and the Clarke Banks Group.
When CN contacted the firm this morning, it was told that Thomson was currently “out of the business, sick”.
A previous email sent on 31 July to the company by CN requesting more information went unanswered.
Thomson had been on the board of Wakefield-based Assent BC – which acquired Clarke Banks two years ago – since 2021.
The company came into the national spotlight last year after CN revealed that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) had issued an industry alert after Assent BC failed to register as an RBCA.
This, along with the insolvency of the unrelated AIS Surveyors, meant work on more than 50 ongoing projects classed as higher-risk had to stop.
The BSR said it did not have information about which projects were affected but said the jobs should not continue until they were validated.
Last year, the then Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR) body twice sanctioned Assent BC for breaching its code of conduct.
One followed the firm being convicted under Section 57 of the Building Act 1984 – a law relating to the issuance of reckless or false information on a notice or certificate.
Assent BC’s accounts show it was convicted in September 2020 and given a level 3 sanction the following year; following a review, another CICAIR panel was held in January 2024, which imposed a less-severe level 2 sanction for the same offence.
Despite this, in October 2024, LB Building Control won a place on the BSR’s higher-risk building framework for companies that carry out tasks such as building-control certification and approved inspection work for the regulator.
An alleged lack of transparency around procurement for the framework was criticised the following month.
Assent BC’s accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023, the most recent to be published, show it turned over £2.8m during the period – a sharp drop from £6.6m in 2022.
A restructuring of the business was cited for the revenue drop.
During the period, it made a £354,393 pre-tax loss, which was an improvement on the £1.4m loss the year before.
The firm employed an average of 71 people, while its highest-paid director took home an £85,000 package.
Parent company Assent Building Compliance and Safety Group’s accounts for the same period showed it achieved revenues of £24.3m, down slightly from £24.6m in 2022.
The company made a pre-tax loss of £2.2m, a decline from the £202,090 pre-tax loss posted in the prior year.
Other companies owned by the group include Xact Consultancy and Training Ltd, acquired in 2022, where Thomson was also listed as a director until 28 July.
Assent did not respond to CN’s request for further comment about Thomson’s situation.
The PR firm previously used by the company said it was no longer engaged by it.