Most of the Pochin’s Group was placed into administration on Monday putting 120 jobs at risk.
Administrators from Grant Thornton UK LLP are now in charge of eight divisions of the group – including the main trading entities of Pochin’s Ltd, Pochin Construction Ltd and six other subsidiaries.
The Cheshire based firm was founded in the 1930s and was a familiar name on sites across the North West.
Grant Thornton said the business had been dragged down by legacy issues from earlier contracts which “became too great a burden leading to difficult trading conditions.”
The new management team explored a number of options to keep the company afloat including injections of significant levels of capital from shareholders and the sale of the group’s property portfolio.
But Grant Thornton said: “Despite these efforts, the impact of the challenges have proven insurmountable and the difficult decision was reached by the directors to place a number of entities in the group into administration.
“This includes the main trading entities of Pochin’s Ltd, Pochin Construction Ltd and six other subsidiaries.”
Joint administrator Sarah O’Toole said: “Whilst it is very early days, this may result in a number of redundancies and the companies ceasing to trade, the joint administrators will continue to review options to ensure the best possible outcome for creditors.”
The Enquirer was contacted by a series of stunned subcontractors on Monday morning who had been turned away from sites.
Last year Pochin’s construction arm lost £6.2m on £50m revenue after being hit by a single loss-making contract in Manchester.
It is understood to have been in talks with developer De Trafford over final settlement of the City Gardens residential scheme, which is now finished.
