More than 460 companies say they are owed money by collapsed Tyneside contractor Mentor Construction, with debts totalling more than £23m, new documents show.

The Killingworth company collapsed into administration in February after a key funder pulled its backing, despite seeing revenues rise in its most recent accounts months earlier. The firm – a former Northumberland and Tyneside Company of the Year at the North East Business Awards – appointed specialists at FRP Advisory when the funder pulled its resources amid cashflow difficulties, caused by pandemic restrictions, rapid inflation and the increasing costs of materials.

Around 80 jobs were lost when the firm ceased trading, despite directors’ efforts to create turnaround strategies. When the firm collapsed, an initial statement of the firm’s finances, dated February, showed £9.3m was owed to creditors, but at the time the joint administrators estimated that figure would grow.

Secured creditor Lloyds Bank was paid in full prior to FRP’s appointment, while more than £90,000 owed to former employees was expected to be paid full, along with around £50,000 owed to HMRC. Now new documents have been filed for the company, showing a sharp rise in the monies owed.

Estimated total assets for preferential creditors – which include staff – topped £1.2m, while assets available for unsecured creditors were just £1.047m. But unsecured non-preferential claims top more than £23.56m. That figure includes sums claimed by employees, group creditors and unsecured creditors.

A long of creditors spread over 17 pages includes 462 separate companies collectively claiming they are owed £23.7m.

The publication of the document follows weeks on from a progress report by joint administrators Allan Kelly and Steven Ross, which said that creditors will eventually get a distribution from them, as funds are realised through the sale of assets, and money is recovered from “successful actions taken against third parties”.

The progress report says the administrators will take steps to move the company into voluntary liquidation, to enable a distribution to the unsecured creditors.

The report adds: “Based on the assumptions made in the estimated outcome statement it is currently estimated that there will be sufficient funds available to make a distribution to unsecured creditors in due course.”

The £62m turnover Metnor Construction had been involved in a significant number of projects across the private residential, care, hospitality and retail sectors. Previous projects include three leisure centres in London, Leicestershire and North Norfolk, data halls in Welwyn Garden City and Wembley and two hotels in the North East.

The firm was a subsidiary of Metnor Group, which followed the business into administration in March along with fellow subsidiary Norstead Ltd.