Administrators said they are working with a handful of key staff to finalise the firm’s position on key contracts, but confirmed the building services specialist has ceased trading.

The rest of the staff at the £18 turnover firm, which is based near Old Trafford Cricket Ground, have been laid off.

The firm has been in the Barratt family hands since its was established back in 1935, and has worked on many major industry projects over the years, including the Channel Tunnel.

In recent years it has worked as a M&E package contractor for most of the industry’s top 10 contractors on commercial, retail and large scale residential jobs around the country.

On the strength of its reputation Barratt also worked on several overseas projects from China and Australia to Europe.

Philip Francis Duffy and Steven Muncaster of MCR have been appointed joint administrators of the firm.

It had been struggling for several years and ran up losses of £1.26m in 2010.

In an effort to avoid being drawn into further suicidal bidding, S Barratt reduced the amount of mechanical and electrical contracting work it handled to return to specialised installation projects, including large solar panel schemes.

But this sector has been decimated by the ending of feed in tariff subsidies.