This morning Severfield and Billington reported that the majority of sites were now open after some temporary interruptions.

Mark Smith, Billington chief executive officer, reported that the firm was in a good position after raising revenue 36% to a record £105m last year.

He said that this had generated a 20% uplift in pre-tax profit to nearly £6m.

Smith said: “We are delighted with the results we have achieved in 2019, an exceptional year for the Group. However, 2020 has been dominated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He added: “While we remain operational the Covid-19 outbreak has inevitably led to some reductions in volumes across the group although more prevalently in our easi-edge, hoard-it and Peter Marshall Steel Stairs businesses.

“To minimise the impact on the company we have taken the decision to furlough a number of staff in these businesses as well as within Billington Structures.

“We are in a financially robust position and are well placed to face the challenges ahead.”

In a pre-year close statement this morning, Britain’s biggest steelwork contractor Severfield said: “While the majority of the group’s construction sites remain open and its factories remain operational, given the ongoing market uncertainty, it is not possible to accurately predict either the duration of the disruption or its impact on the FY21 outturn.”

But it added that its order book presently stood at £293m (1 November 2019: £323m), providing a strong future workload during the unprecedented period of uncertainty.

It reported that the level of tendering and pipeline activity remained good.

Overall cash headroom including Severfield’s £25m overdraft facility exceeded £50m.