The main trading businesses of offsite specialist Merit have gone into administration with the loss of 340 jobs.

James Lumb and Will Wright from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to Merit Group Services Limited, and Merit Health Limited and Merit Holdings Limited today and yesterday.

The specialist had been facing contract delays and cash flow issues in recent months which were exacerbated by a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs.

Directors at the Northumberland based firm have been examining options including a sale, refinancing and investment.

But no rescue option materialised leading to the appointment of administrators and the majority of Merit’s 340 employees being made redundant.

James Lumb, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “The UK construction industry continues to face tremendous headwinds, with rising costs, high interest rates and subdued private sector demand having an impact on larger contracts in particular.

“Although Merit has developed an outstanding reputation for the quality and innovation of its specialist offsite solutions, these broader challenges proved to be insurmountable.”

He continued: “We continue to explore options in order to find a solution that works for Merit’s customers, employees and creditors. In the meantime, we are prioritising providing support to all those who have been affected by redundancy, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”