The City announcement by Costain was titled: “No intention to make an offer for Mouchel Group plc.”

Mouchel confirmed last month that it has rejected bid offers from Interserve and Costain.

Interserve confirmed immediately that it would not be making an improved offer and Costain has now followed suit after making four offers culminating in a final bid of £175m.

Costain offered to undertake another week of due diligence in the wake of the final Mouchel rejection but that was also turned down by the consultant.

Costain said: “This offer has been rejected and, having considered its options, the Board of Costain has therefore decided to withdraw its revised proposal and confirms that Costain has no intention of making an offer for Mouchel.”

Mouchel confirmed it was no longer in an offer period to the City.

Chief executive Richard Cuthbert said: “I’m delighted that, after a prolonged period of uncertainty and disruption, we can now focus on our clients and our business.

“In an environment where all of our clients are facing the challenge of delivering higher quality services more efficiently, it is clear that our skills will be increasingly in demand and this underpins our positive long term outlook.”