The most senior former employee returning to the ranks is director Adrian Rooney. He had worked for the £50m turnover Greater Manchester-based builder since 1995 and comes back from a nine month spell at John Sisk & Son.

Site manager Mike Banks, who was at Bardsley from 2000 before leaving for Mayo Civils last June, has also rejoined along with contract manager Keith Huntington who worked for Bardsley until 2014 when he left to join Kier Living as a construction director.

They join a handful of other hires in the last month as Bardsley seeks to expand after a clutch of contract wins.

New arrivals are senior project manager Jim Flannery who joined from Bilt Group, and buyer Steve Albinson and health and safety adviser Helene Watson who both join from troubled contractor Forrest.

Quantity surveyor Ronnie Kennedy has moved from Mason Lord, while Curtis Huynh has arrived from Renaker Build.

Roly Bardsley, chairman of Bardsley Construction, said: “The influx of talent takes our total workforce to more than 200 people and is reflective of the breadth and depth of skills and expertise that Bardsley Construction can offer to its ever-growing client base.

“We start 2017 with a flurry of contract wins so it’s all hands to the pump for our new and existing colleagues as we look forward with confidence to a strong and successful year in a reviving construction sector.”

Since the start of the year Bardsley Construction has picked up a £3.3m contract with Halton Housing Trust for 28 affordable homes in Runcorn, Cheshire. In Blackburn it is due to build a 91 extra care retirement flats for Penmaric later this year at the former Albion Mill site.

It also secured a £4.7m design and build project for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to replace residential and retail properties at The Strand, Rochdale with three-storey residential and retail buildings, and a £6.2m six-storey student block for Venture Property Group in Sheffield.