Balfour Beatty, BAM, John Graham,Kier and Sir Robert McAlpine are battling it out to restore the Category A Listed building which was destroyed by fire in May 2014.

A winner is expected to be appointed in June with work starting on site shortly after.

Final preparation work – the strip out of the fire damaged west wing – is currently underway and will be completed by the end of May.

Liz Davidson, Senior Project Manager, Mackintosh Restoration, said: “Clearly we need a contractor who is able to deliver the full range of technical requirements for the retrofit and has a proven track record in bringing major restoration projects in on time and on budget.

“However, over and above this we are looking for the inclusion of experienced specialists who are capable of undertaking the expert restoration of this Category A Listed building.

“We are looking for our Main Contractor to have the appropriate expertise in their team to deliver to the highest standard in terms of the specialist skills.”