The contractor was an equity investor in the Britishvolt which had plans to build a £300m gigafactory in Northumberland before it went into administration in January.

The hit added to NG Bailey’s woes for the year ending 3 March 2023 with results showing a pre-tax loss of £25m from a turnover of £532m.

Problem contracts dogged the business with “a small number of major fixed price contracts which have suffered from unprecedented inflationary pressures, delays and some supply chain failures, which have cost the business significantly.”

NG Bailey added: “The cash impact of these challenging jobs is now largely behind us with cash reserves remaining robust.”

Chief executive David Hurcomb said: “Despite the current market conditions being some of the toughest the Group has faced in its long history, we are well placed with a balanced portfolio across building construction, infrastructure and services.

“The Group’s balance sheet strength is a key differentiator as customers look for stability across their supply chains over project lifetimes.

“Our high-quality order book remains healthy, increasing by £100m to £1.3bn, with ongoing strategic opportunities in recession resilient sectors providing a clear route to pre-pandemic levels of trading.

“The consistently strong performance of our Services division demonstrates first-hand the strength of our diversified business plan.

“Whilst market headwinds are being managed carefully in the short-term, particularly for our Engineering division, the medium to long-term outlook across our markets is positive, with the UK government committed to economic recovery through significant investment in infrastructure and the continued drive to a decarbonised economy.”

“Despite current market conditions, the Group’s long-term strategic plan, robust cash reserves and strong pipeline of work, means we are on track to return to profitability in 2023/24.

“Within Engineering, we have restructured our business to focus on quality margins and will only take on work with an acceptable risk profile. Our laser focus remains on markets where we have leading expertise and experience including defence, nuclear, healthcare, custodial and rail.”