The Treasury and Bank of England are co-ordinating efforts to support firms but construction companies are desperate to hear the details behind the headline numbers.

Major contractors and finance experts fear action under the Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility could bypass the industry.

In a briefing note on Wednesday the Bank of England said the loan scheme would only be available to firms “making a material contribution to the UK economy” who can “demonstrate they were in sound financial health prior to the shock.”

The scheme is designed to “help businesses across a range of sectors to pay wages and suppliers, even while experiencing severe disruption to cashflows.”

One major contractor said: “That sounds great but we need to know the detail of what it actually means.”

And a finance expert said: “A lot of big name contractors  would struggle to meet some of those general criteria so everyone is desperate for clarity.

“The industry needs help to keep it functioning for the long term prosperity of the country.

“And it needs that help now.”

Support for smaller companies is being co-ordinated by the British Business Bank but exact details of eligibility criteria have not been published yet.

Another construction source said: “Everyone is pushing to keep sites open because operatives want to work and employers need them to work.

“The nightmare scenario is shutting down sites without a crystal clear indication of financial help and a strategy for getting the country building again.”