Atwal Builders and its director Kashmir Singh Atwal were fined after pleading guilty to breaches of  the Health and Safety at Work Act at Croydon Crown Court on Friday after two flats next door to the shop and flats they were working on collapsed.
 
The incident happened on Tower Bridge Road, London in December 2004, and made the residents of the flats homeless.
 
Atwal Builders carried out excavations to form the foundations of the new building. The company dug a trench alongside the wall of a bookshop at a depth that undermined its foundations. This removed any  suitable support for the excavation or the shop.
 
Judge Tanzer called Atwal "incompetant and ignorant". He said over previous years at other sites Atwal had "failed to heed warnings from the Health and Safety Executive, and endeavoured to evade the consequences with feeble excuse after excuse".
 
The investigating HSE inspector, Alec Ferguson, said: "This was an utterly needless and preventable incident caused by a company with a poor health and safety record. Atwal was in everyday control of the site, but failed to ensure that construction work was carried out safely, due to his neglect. I would remind all contractors of the dangers associated with excavating near to existing structures, and to take every necessary precaution to provide adequate support to prevent a similar incident".