The results of listed contractor Rok will take a £1.6m hit this year after it closed Spaceage, a subsidiary based in Poole, Dorset.

The City can be expected to revise its initial predictions over ROK’s annual results, which now forecast a pre-tax profit of £13.9m.

Spaceage specialised in fabricating conservatory roofs and plastic building products. A market source said the sector had been “in turmoil for 18 months” after a conservatory maker entered the market and undercut its rivals 45%.

Spaceage was a non-core part of Rok’s operations, providing just 1% of the group’s turnover. It had made a loss for some time.

Garvis Snook, Rok chief executive, said: “There are 33 people who work in that business, but there is also a building company of ours nearby, so hopefully we can get work for some of them there – although it will be a minority.”

Another branch of Spaceage in Reading, Berkshire, has been sold to a local company, Dunraglaze, for a nominal sun. This branch had three employees.

Rok has also announced the appointment of Chris Bailey as a non-executive director. Bailey was finance director at materials group Aggregate Industries for seven years before stepping down last year.

Snook said he was pleased to have appointed Bailey because of his experience at a company as large as Aggregate – it is just outside the FTSE-100.

Snook said: “I think it shows that we are heading in the right direction.”