Consultant Mouchel has taken a £15m hit on bad debt in Dubai, pushing it £13.5m into the red for the year ended 31 July 2009

A company statement said: “We have been adversely impacted by the deteriorating economic environment in the region. Currently, there is minimal demand for infrastructure development, particularly in Dubai.”

Turnover increased 13% from £657m to £741m but chief executive Richard Cuthbert described the year as “difficult and disappointing”.

During the period, the company also failed to make the cut on Network Rail’s civil engineering framework and said it had now completed its withdrawal from the rail sector.

Its order book stood at £1.9bn at the year end.