The figure accounts for 10 per cent of its workforce.

In an interim management statement the company said: “Since September, trading conditions have remained difficult, with the business in both the English Midlands and Scottish markets experiencing reductions in volumes and coming under pressure from the lack of new development and house building activity.”

Margins were slipping downwards during the summer when the hikes in energy costs couldn’t be fully passed on, but this pressure has now eased somewhat.

The pricing environment remains highly competitive, said Ennstone.