The figure was contained in the administrator’s report into the collapse of the construction business which was based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland with offices in London and Milton Keynes.

Patton worked across the UK before it went into administration last November.

Administrator Tom Keenan confirmed that subcontractors and suppliers are unlikely to get anything.

Keenan said in a report seen by the BBC there is “unlikely to be a dividend for unsecured creditors”.

He said this is based on assumptions regarding how much money can be recovered from outstanding contracts and work in progress.

No offers have so far been made for the remaining parts of the business which owned a significant property portfolio which is now set to be sold.

The report said Patton came under pressure as part of the economic downturn and faced reduced activity levels and lower profit margins.

This was exacerbated when a customer entered administration without paying for work and a Patton subsidiary in England went bust.

This put the business under severe cash flow pressures and the directors were unable to raise new finance.

The failure of Patton has already dragged down one leading trade contractor.

Northern Ireland based painting specialist the Joseph Hughes Group was a major subcontractor to the firm and went into administration last month with the loss of 147 jobs.