A construction company which has been a main contractor for Esso, Shell, BP, Roadchef, and Granada/Moto has been placed into administration and made all its staff redundant.

Stacey Construction, which is based at Wiveliscombe, Somerset, and was set up in 1967, said in a statement: “The redundancies have been brought about due to two separate clients not paying their bills.

“These two excessively large unpaid amounts have reduced cashflow over a sustained period, which is no longer a tenable situation.

“It is an unfortunate side-effect of the economic climate that brings such situations out, resulting in many businesses being stripped of cash through no fault of their own.”

Managing director Shaun Stacey said the petrol forecourt construction division would continue as a new company.

He added: “Many of the petrol forecourts and motorway service areas we see today were built by Stacey’s.

“As a main contractor for Esso, Shell, BP, Roadchef, and Granada/Moto over the years, Stacey sites extend nationwide across the network of motorways.

“The list is too long to name but you can’t go very far across the country without popping into a Stacey-built forecourt or motorway service area.”