Mouchel is reviewing whether to continue bidding for work under the government’s £45bn Building Schools for the Future programme as dissatisfaction grows with the scheme’s bidding costs.

The UK-based consultant is believed to be the first major player to consider curtailing its involvement in the programme as a result of its high bid costs.

It recently reached financial close on the £167m Hackney BSF scheme, which it bid for with engineer Babcock.

In a trading update the firm said it was performing in line with expectations. It said it had a forward order book of £2.1bn, the same as at its last year-end, although its bidding pipeline fell slightly from £2.2bn to £2bn.