Staff at North East building contractor Surgo Construction have started looking for new jobs.

The Enquirer understands that workers were told yesterday that the company is heading for administration.

Surgo has been hit financially recently by a protracted payment dispute with house builder Bellway.

According to insiders Bellway brought problems to a head for Surgo when it issued a winding-up petition against the contractor over a £1.1m outstanding adjudication settlement.

Before that Surgo had been caught up in a payment dispute on a school project.

The company has been in business for nearly 100 years and specialises in contracts ranging from £3m to £20m+.

Latest accounts for the year to Octber 31 2022 show a turnover of £14.4m generating a pre-tax profit of £74,488 while employing 66 people.