Deloitte administrators said this morning that the profitable subsidiary was dragged down by cash flow issues in the wider Lakesmere Group.

They are still trying to sell the business as a going concern and confirmed this morning that several interested parties are circling.

McMullen employs around 270 staff mainly out of the Northerm Ireland factory in Portadown and its head office in Winchester.

So far no redundancies have been announced arising from today’s administration.

The firm, which is working on projects in Leeds, Chester and London, initially survived the collapse of its parent Lakesmere Group on 2 November.

Joint administrator Peter Allen said: “McMullen is a profitable business that unfortunately has been affected by cash flow issues in the wider Lakesmere group.

“McMullen therefore has continued to trade outside of insolvency whilst a buyer was sought.  The business will continue to trade while we seek to sell it as a going concern and there are ongoing discussions with a number of interested parties.”

Lakesmere bought Ted McMullen’s cladding business, then called McMullen Architectural Systems, from  administrators in 2012 follows deterioration in the firm’s financial performance caused by a downturn in the construction and significant investments made into foreign markets.

McMullen is presently working on an £18m cladding contract for the high-rise Shell Centre scheme in London and a landmark 42-storey residential development for Canary Wharf Contractors in London Docklands.

It is also working alongside main contractor Laing O’Rourke to deliver a £11m façade contract for The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust’s new specialist hospital in Liverpool.