The Lancashire company which has a turnover of £65 million is the UK's largest manufacturer of timber engineered products including roof trusses, staircases, doors and wooden canopies. It employs around 500 people.

The company has a national distribution network of 17 offices throughout the country.

Administrators BDO Stoy Hayward's business restructuring division said the company had become a casualty of the house building downturn.

"Palgrave Brown is a casualty of the well-documented contraction of the construction and house-building industries.

"This sudden and steep downturn is at the centre of the company's current difficulties.

"We're currently in the process of conducting an immediate business review and progressing discussions with several interested parties working to secure a going concern sale."