Subcontractors and suppliers have been left holding unpaid bills worth £17.4m following the collapse of offsite specialist Merit.

The scale of the company’s debts have been revealed in an update by administrator Interpath who took control in November.

The administrator’s proposals  for Merit Holdings state it is “highly unlikely” unsecured creditors will receive a penny for their outstanding invoices.

Merit employed 284 staff at the time of administration who were all made redundant.

Latest accounts for the Northumberland based firm show a turnover of £79.7m for the year to June 30 2025 generating a pre-tax profit of £4.3m.

Merit was founded by former Chief Executive Officer Tony Wells.

The report states that a “substantial disposal of assets” was agreed post-administration to a “connected party” called Merit Industrialised Construction Ltd for £396,000.

Companies House records show Merit Holdings directors Kirsty Wells, Matthew McGrady and David Wilkinson were also directors of newly-formed Merit Industrialised Construction Ltd at the time of the purchase.