The £50m turnover business, which counted most of the major contractors as its clients, was placed into administration after directors concluded that it was not possible to continue to operate the business while a buyer was sought.

The firm had been working on on the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre hotel and spa fit-out where it is understood to be in talks with main contractor Robertson to finalise payments.

Havelock International was set up after a pre-pack administration of Havelock Europa a year ago for £1.1m.

This saved most jobs at the business but left £20m owed to unsecured creditors.

Administrator David Baxendale for PricewaterhouseCoopers said: “The company has faced a challenging trading environment for some time, and the directors have concluded that there is no longer any reasonable prospect for the company to continue to trade.

“Prior to our appointment, we explored ways that the business might continue to operate whilst a buyer was sought.

“However, regrettably this has not proved possible and it has therefore been necessary to make 247 employees redundant with immediate effect.

“Our priority is to ensure that all employees are assisted in processing their redundancy claims as a priority.”