Staff were told on Friday that up to 35 roles are at risk.

Beard said that number could fall as the company “is putting all of its efforts into work winning and, as the business secures more projects, the number of redundancies may well be reduced.”

Chairman Mark Beard is also the current Chartered Institute of Building president.

He said: “This is the sort of decision nobody wants to have to make. Every member of the Beard team is highly valued and it is not easy knowing that some of those people will be leaving us.

“Everyone across the business has worked extremely hard to reduce costs and increase efficiencies to avoid the need for redundancies.

“With the firm currently operating at reduced capacity, the board has come to the reluctant conclusion that this further step is now necessary.

“Although revenues look set to fall, we have been able to keep the number of redundancies down to around 12% and we may yet be able to reduce this further through work winning.

“While we recognise that it is a difficult time for our colleagues who will be leaving us, we will do everything we can to ensure they are well looked after and to help them find new roles as quickly as possible.

“This action is being taken to preserve the long-term sustainability of the business and ensure Beard is fit for the future.

“This is designed not only so that we can give assurance to existing and prospective customers, but also to protect the jobs of as many people as possible for the long term, both in Beard and across our supply chain.”

Beard maintained operations on 90% of its sites during lockdown and has now brought all of its sites back into operation.