A large British construction company is aiming to become a major player in the Irish market, following its purchase of the assets and goodwill of Irishenco, the civil engineering company which went into liquidation last month with debts approaching £12 million. It is understood that John Mowlem & Company paid almost £2 million for the firm.

Mowlem said last night that it intended to build a presence in Ireland, using the Irishenco name. It is retaining the company's current management and about 10 staff.

Mowlem's managing director, Mr Willie Smith, said he hoped the workforce would reach 250, the number employed when Irishenco went bust.

Last month, Irishenco went into liquidation with unsecured trade creditors being owed £6.4 million. The company's estimated assets were just £6 million. Secured creditors include the Revenue Commissioners which is owed £1.5 million.

The monies will go towards paying off preferential creditors - who are owed £2 million and then secured creditors. It was no secret that Irishenco was in financial trouble, but the scale of the debts surprised many in the industry. Mowlem & Company first linked up with Irishenco last year and bid for a number of projects on a joint venture basis. However, to date none has been successful.

Mowlem already has a presence in Northern Ireland and has a site investigations company in Cork.

The group has an annual turnover of £1.5 billion and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Last year, it posted pre-tax profits of £31 million, up from £19 million the previous year.

Construction is its main business and it employs 12,500 worldwide, of which 4,500 work in the well-known scaffolding group SGB.

Mowlem's financial controller, Mr Gerry Brown, said last night his company believed the Irishenco name was well known and well respected and would give Mowlem an entry into the market.

He said the Irish economy was very buoyant and there were a number of promising projects coming up. These included the Dublin Bay Waste Water Project and a project in Adare, Co Limerick

"Irishenco has good plant and people with strong local knowledge which is very important when you are trying to break into a local market," he said. Irishenco liquidator, Mr Liam Dowdall, of BDO Simpson Xavier, said yesterday that the transaction for "certain assets" of Irishenco had been concluded in close co-operation with Mr Martin Ferris, the receiver and manager of Irishenco Plant Ltd. This is a small company which owned some plant, according to Mr Dowdall.

Mr Dowdall said Mowlem had paid "a significant sum" for the assets which included plant, machinery, and a leasehold interest in a property in Kill, Co Kildare and the goodwill.

He said all Irishenco contracts that had been in progress, including the construction of the Rathcoole Interchange on the Naas Road, had been terminated when the company went bust.

Mr Dowdall will now continue with the liquidation process, which will include chasing monies Irishenco is owed, to pay off other creditors.