The move will see the firm’s core civil and structural engineering operation transferred to newly formed CCE Ltd, a business run by the same five directors who previously led Clancy Consulting.

The pre-pack style restructuring is designed to ringfence the profitable engineering business while Clancy exits its building services division following challenging market conditions and persistent skills shortages.

Clancy, which employed 180 staff according to its latest filed accounts, said the restructure would result in unavoidable redundancies, although it was working to transfer members of the building services team to another consultancy where possible to maintain client continuity and protect jobs.

Chief executive Chris Acton said: “The previous company carried a historic liability which needed to be addressed.

“Following a comprehensive review, the administration process was identified as the only mechanism to enable the Civil and Structural Engineering business to separate and move forward as a focused standalone business.

“Importantly, the restructure has enabled us to safeguard over 70 jobs within the Civil and Structural Engineering business and preserve a strong and experienced team, longstanding client relationships and a substantial portfolio of work.

“The restructure provides a platform to protect those strengths and build a sustainable business focused on the Civil and Structural Engineering expertise for which Clancy has been known for more than 54 years.”

The streamlined business will focus exclusively on civil and structural engineering, the discipline on which Clancy built its reputation over more than five decades.

Acton said the new business would provide “greater clarity, greater focus and an even stronger platform for our future”, adding that clients would continue to receive the same service while the firm invested in its core engineering capability.