Paisley-based construction and quarrying firm Barr ran up substantial losses last year as a result of two loss-making divisions it has since sold or closed.

The Scotsman website has reported that the group, said Solway Steel and Solway Precast ran up losses of £6.6m, pushing it towards the red and to an operating loss of £3.3m for the year.

The steel division was closed in January and Barr’s precast concrete business was sold to management last month in a deal that preserved some jobs at the South Ayrshire factory.

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In accounts filed at Companies House and revealed by Scotsman.com, Barr said the two divisions had been operating at a loss "in recent years".

This, when combined with the current economic uncertainty and lull in the construction industry, had forced the company to divest the businesses.

Barr said its board did not expect the construction sector to show any improvement in the foreseeable future.

Turnover at the group dropped to £211m, down from £254m in 2010.

Barr said it continued to invest in training its workforce of 700 and would attempt to address a loss in work in the construction business with more buoyant areas of trade, such as its industrial and waste management divisions.

Barr’s quarrying division is developing new mineral reserves and the firm invested £900,000 in "capital additions" last year.

Barr admitted that the marketplace was challenging in all sectors where it trades, but it was developing its business and maintaining its investment.

(IT/GK)