Scottish crane hire company Whyte Crane Services has appointed an administrator after directors decided to cease trading, putting 38 staff out of work.

The 39-year-old business traded from offices in Aberdeen and Grangemouth, operating a mobile fleet of nearly 30 mobile cranes.

Whyte Crane Services was set up in July 2019 and eventually took over the activities of Whyte Crane Hire, which went into administration in February 2020 and appointed a liquidator earlier this year.

Ownership of the crane business remained in the Whyte family, with Lawrence Whyte the lead director of both companies. The 2020 accounts – filed a short time after the new company took over the crane operations – shows the company had assets of £16.7 million with a tangible net worth of £904,000 and £4.25 million of working capital.

Attempts by the director were made to exit unprofitable contracts and reduce its overheads, but trading losses continued and conditions deteriorated and the director determined trading should cease.

Geoff Jacobs, managing director at insolvency practitioner Interpath Advisory, said: “Since our appointment, our focus has been to provide support to the workforce through the redundancy process, as well as safeguarding the company’s plant and equipment and arranging for the safe return of financed cranes to the appropriate providers.

“In the days ahead, we will also be seeking to market the company’s website, its well-known name and customer book, together with realising all other assets.

“We would encourage any interested parties to come forward as soon as possible.”

It is understood to be the fourth crane hirer to sink into administration this year blaming the financial impact of Covid lockdown and tough competition in the sector.