Employees at both Curo Construction and Curo Interiors were issued letters on Friday confirming the firms had ceased trading with immediate effect.

In a message sent to staff, directors Darren Pettitt and Steve Conlin said: “We exhausted all options but have been unable to secure a solution that allows the business to continue.”

Workers were told not to return to sites or offices unless specifically instructed otherwise.

The sudden shutdown has left staff scrambling over unpaid wages and redundancy claims, with several former employees understood to have joined forces with lawyers to recover money owed.

Cash flow pressures had been mounting for months as subcontractors increasingly turned to credit reference and debt recovery agencies over unpaid bills.

Trouble came to a head earlier this month when one steelwork subcontractor lodged a winding-up petition against the contractor.

Founded in 2013, Curo carved out a niche in the London refurbishment and fit-out market working across commercial offices, heritage schemes, industrial projects, data centres and film studios.

The business delivered major projects including work at Shinfield film and TV studios near Reading alongside high-end London office fit-outs, with schemes typically valued between £2m and £80m.

Latest accounts for the year to September 2024 revealed turnover slumped from £157m to £108m after completion of the firm’s flagship Shinfield Studios job and delays to new project starts.

Pre-tax profit also tumbled from £3.2m to £1.2m while cash reserves fell sharply from £22m to £11m.

Despite the slowdown, directors said at the time the contractor had already secured at least £150m of turnover for 2025 and was targeting further growth alongside expansion plans into northern England.

Average staff numbers rose to 104 during 2024, up from 85 a year earlier.