According to a creditors report the civil engineering contractor collapsed owing £7.1m to unsecured trade contractors and suppliers.

Compensation payments totalling £158,914 to the 140 strong former workforce are expected to be paid, but further employee claims of £1.62m are also expected.

Administrators from Sheffield-based P&A Partnership also revealed they would investigate the sale of a major contract at Corby to a business led by some of the firm’s management team before their appointment.

The report states: “It is proposed that the novation shall be reviewed to ensure that the transaction was undertaken at a fair value.”

Hewlett Construction operated on the large Priors Hall Park housing development in Corby and for several house builders in the North, including a job for Miller Homes at the former Oakes Park School in Sheffield.

So far P&A’s administrators have recouped around £553,000 of an estimated £5.4m owed to Hewlett on 28 contracts when it fell into administration.

Among the worst hit trade creditors are: Gibbs Surfacing, owed £774,000; Demolition firm Lyndon Thomas (£715,000); Groundsource Drilling and Contracting (£455,000); builders’ merchant James Burrell (£160,000); and Plastic pipe supplier Acquspira (£148,000).

Hewlett Plant, which continues to trade, was also owed £424,000.

Hewlett Construction was set up by managing director Alan Cooper following the failure of Hewlett Civil Engineering with debts of over £11m.

According to the administrators the new Hewlett firm found itself under immediate pressure after it failed to novate as many of the former business’s contracts as expected.

To support the business a funding deal was agreed, but Hewlett Construction defaulted on this agreement in January with about £1.8m repayable.

Disputes arising from Hewlett Construction’s efforts to collect some debts led to restructuring experts from the P&A Partnership being consulted, but it soon became apparent there were insufficient funds to continue trading.