Rumours about the financial state of the once fast-growing contractor spread though the construction industry last week.

As the big freeze closed many sites, project and site managers were unable to confirm whether the firm had gone under.

It has now emerged that administrators from Birmingham accountancy firm Poppleton & Appleby were called in to handle the affairs of C J Haughey last week.

One site agent told the Enquirer: “A Haughey worker walked into our site office a few days ago saying it was all over and he desperately needed a job, nobody knew what was going on.

“We couldn’t confirm whether it was just the concrete or plant business that had gone or the whole group. Nobody was answering calls at Haughey’s last week.”

CJ Haughey is headed up by Chris Haughey who, at the age of 33, is one of the youngest senior directors in the construction sector.

The firm had picked up several industry awards and director Haughey was hailed by one weekly trade magazine as a future leader to watch in the industry.

According to the last set of accounts turnover has topped £25m a year. The groundwork firm worked for many main contractors in the Midlands including Bowmer & Kirkland on its current £18m contract for a sports academy in Scunthorpe.

Two year’s ago Haughey diversified into concrete frame construction.

One rival contractor said: “We went up against them a few times and lost out to bids that left us sat in a room wondering where we had gone wrong.

“People said they took on the former Lancsville’s management team to set up the concrete business and it seems they have  ended up in the same place.”