PwC is believed to have given up hope of selling the contractor in its entirety and it will now be split up.

The Enquirer understands that interested contractors were stunned by the state of Rok’s books when they ran the rule over the business.

It is thought that Rok owed £150m to trade creditors and firms that have decided to walk away include Galliford Try and Sisk.

PwC is now talking to contractors not put off by the numbers and hope to tie-up a deal quickly. Morrison is believed to be one of the firms still in the frame while Mears has cooled its interest.

One contractor interested in Rok’s general construction work told the Enquirer: “We had a look hoping to pick up some decent work but there just wasn’t much on the books.

“Most of the projects were small scale stuff and  you could see how the work had been drying up for them for quite a while.”

Rob Hunt, partner and joint administrator, at PwC said late last Friday:

“The last 48 hours has seen several parties undertaking due diligence on all three divisions. We cannot identify those parties at this stage, but many are well known names in the industry.

“The parties are continuing the diligence process with us on the Rok sites before, hopefully, formulating their proposals during the remainder of today.

“We are encouraged by the progress made; dialogue is expected to continue over the weekend and we remain hopeful that we will be able to secure a sale of some of the remaining businesses.

“We are working closely with employees, suppliers and customers and should continue to update them.
We expect to have further updates early next week.”