Around 45 staff have lost their jobs as administrators decided to keep on a skeleton crew of just 15 staff to complete existing jobs.

Administrator Poppleton and Appleby are now in talks with several of the firm’s main clients about finishing existing contracts.

Andrew Turpin, of Poppleton and Appleby, said that the firm had suffered a severe drop in orders due to the downturn in the property market and public sector cuts.

He said: “We are currently working with the management to fully assess the situation and to decide what steps to take.”

MSS was a major steelwork contractor in the region and boasted Bam, Bovis Lend Lease, Kier and Skanska among its major clients in recent years.

The contractor has been involved on high profile contracts including Coventry University Hospital, Belgrade Plaza, Bath University Institute of Sport and Cambridge Science Park.

The collapse fulfills a prophecy from the country’s leading steelwork contractor Severfield Rowen. Just over a month ago, its chief executive Tom Haughey warned the market could no longer sustain the current number of specialist steelwork firms.

Many steelwork contractors have warned that rival firms have been buying work at unsustainable prices for months.