A Lisburn headquartered award-winning engineering company, which previously worked on high profile projects for the London Olympics, is to be placed in to administration putting 171 jobs at risk in the North.

McGrath Bros (Engineering Group) has requested that an administrator be appointed to the business which operates four sites across Northern Ireland and England.

The majority of the jobs under threat are based in the North.

The company, which had been in business since 1981, specialises in structural and architectural steel metalwork projects.

It helped construct a number of key venues for the London 2012 Olympics including the Olympic Stadium.

Last month it also completed a project at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.

The company said difficult trading conditions in the manufacturing and construction sector had impacted on its business and that while it had explored “all possible options to continue” it had been unable to find a way to stay in business.