A MAJOR shipbuilder with yards in Hampshire has gone into administration with the loss of more than 100 jobs.

A statement issued on behalf of Burgess Marine said: “The company has gone into administration due to the challenges surrounding the delivery of a major refit project completed in Portchester earlier this year and the payment of the final account.”

Burgess, which has its HQ in Dover but operates premises at Southampton, and Portsmouth naval dockyard as well as Portchester, worked across the marine sector, building and repairing naval vessels, workboats and superyachts.

BDO LLP partners Danny Dartnaill and Colin Haig, who have been appointed joint administrators, said the business and assets at three Burgess trading locations – Lowestoft, Avonmouth and Poole – had been sold to Southampton Marine Services Limited, resulting in 45 jobs being saved.

However, the company had cease trading from its sites leading to the redundancies of 106 staff.

Mr Dartnaill said: “Difficult trading conditions and a shortfall in the company’s working capital position – contributed to by a failure to secure the final payment due in regard to a recent major refit project – significantly affected the business and its ongoing viability.”

At the end of October the Daily Echo reported that a subsidiary of Burgess, Meercat, which build workboats at Hythe, had gone into administration. Meercat has subsequently been saved by a management buy-out.

At the time Nick Warren, CEO of Burgess, denied rumours his company was in trouble too, claiming it was trading well ahead of targets.

No one from Southampton Marine Services was available to comment at time of going to press.