‘Toxic’ rumours see RG Falla name consigned to history
‘TOXIC’ but unfounded associations with RG Falla and the former Garenne Group have led to the company which took on the Falla name deciding to drop it completely.
It is now known as Breton and rebranding has taken place over the last few weeks, said managing director Brent Green.
And the new name is being accompanied by new premises, with the company moving its headquarters from Garenne Park to the Braye Road Industrial Estate.
Breton Group was the investment company that took on the old RG Falla’s staff and much of its business earlier this year ahead of the collapse of the Garenne Group.
The company previously called RG Falla had its name changed to Hurel Ltd in early March as the former Garenne Group began to unravel and was placed into liquidation in mid-April.
Although RG Falla Construction Ltd had no links with the old firm, which was founded in the 1950s, it was agreed that the name was going to be retained.
But Mr Green said this ended up leading to confusion.
‘As we went along, we found that people struggled to differentiate between the old company and the new, and we’d rather not be associated with the old company for obvious reasons,’ he said. ‘It was a fantastic company, but not in the last seven years.
‘It had a very rich history, a very good history, and it’s been involved in some fantastic projects on the island.’
But he said that due to various factors over the last seven years, including management issues and Covid, it no longer resembled the previous ‘strong RG Falla’.
‘We were quite proud to have associations with the name, but very simply, because of the debacle of Garenne, ultimately it’s toxic.
‘It hasn’t stopped us getting work, but I’ve really got tired of explaining myself for the last six months.’
New uniforms featuring the Breton logo were ordered for all staff and the firm’s 15 vans and two skip lorries were repainted in the new livery, while a new-look website is under construction.
Along with the rebrand the decision was taken to find new headquarters. ‘We had been looking for premises for quite some time but were hampered by the lack of suitably-sized warehouse space,’ said Mr Green.
The company is now sharing offices with Sigma at the top of the Braye Road Industrial Estate.
‘We redecorated our old offices back in March,’ said Mr Green.
‘They were in dire need of upgrade and in truth we had considered staying. But as time went on, we felt that it was better to move, along with the rebrand.’
The company took over seven projects from the old RG Falla and has acquired seven more since then, including some major private home developments, said Mr Green.
It recently completed work on the new Island Health surgery at L’Aumone, and is still on-site refurbishing the old building.
A spokeswoman for Hurel’s joint liquidators KPMG and Interpath said it would be updating the creditors on its progress when it issued its annual report and had no further comment to make.
