CPUK was hoping to hit a turnover of £60m this year before being brought down by problem contracts and bad debts.

Steven Muncaster and Sarah Bell of Duff & Phelps Ltd  are now joint administrators of the company which has been trading since 2000.

Muncaster said: “CPUK has come under increasing pressure over the past 12 months due to a combination of factors including an increasingly competitive market and raw material price increases.

“The Company exhausted all options in terms of finding a solution to the current financial issues, caused by a combination of problem contracts and bad debts.

“The combined effect of these, coupled with the uncertain outlook for the construction industry in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic has caused a drain on the Company’s cash reserves and it had no other option but to appoint Administrators.”

The business temporarily ceased to trade and all 90 staff were placed on furlough leave by the company prior to the administration.

Employees will remain on furlough leave and the administrators are now looking at a sale of the business and assets of the company as a going concern.

But the Enquirer understands the deadline for initial expressions of interest in buying CPUK is Wednesday April 29.

If no viable potential bids are received by then staff will face the threat of redundancy with their last salaries having been paid on April 17.

Latest results for CPUK for the six months to March 2019 show the firm had a turnover of £23.3m producing a pre-tax profit of £944,000.

CPUK mainly operates across the North of England and the Midlands undertaking new build and refurbishment contracts carried out under traditional and design & build arrangements across most building sectors in the value range £1 million – £25 million.

Its workload includes the construction of education and healthcare facilities, sport and leisure facilities and office and retail premises together with all aspects of residential development.