Clarkebond has been in business for more than 75 years and was acquired by temporary works specialist Independent Design House Group (IDHG) in September.

But Clarkebond staff were stunned in the week before Christmas when the company suddenly went into liquidation.

One said: “The news came as a shock to most of us and has left many reeling.”

The September deal saw 90 Clarkebond staff join IDHG bringing the firm’s total headcount to 140 and ambitions to “super charge” the business as it offered multi-disciplined engineering consultancy services from concept through to construction on site.

But insiders told the Enquirer things started to go wrong soon after the acquisition.

One said: “The new management style and practices didn’t go down well with everyone and some talented staff left.

“They also started letting staff go and making redundancies claiming that wouldn’t affect performance but it obviously did and we weren’t able to properly service some contracts.

“Clarkebond has been in business 77 years but managed to survive only three months under IDHG.”

Latest accounts for Clarkebond (UK) for the year to December 31 2023 show Shareholders’ Funds of £1.5m and cash reserves of £320,000.