MORE than 50 have been lost their jobs with dozens more at risk after an Aberdeen engineering firm went into administration.

Enterprise Engineering Services Limited's position was blamed on the continued low oil price which had left the number of incoming orders at the company significantly down. Turnover fell from £23m in 2014 to £17m in 2015.

KPMG who have been appointed joint administrators of both EESL and its holding company Craigshaw Holdings Limited, at the request of company directors, said 58 staff have been made redundant including 54 in Aberdeen and four in Caithness.

A further 49 employees - 46 in Aberdeen and three in Caithness - have been sent home pending clarification of ongoing customer requirements. A further eight based in Aberdeen have been retained to assist KPMG.

EESL, which has been trading since 1966, offers engineering services including design, fabrication, assembly, installation and inspection.

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring at KPMG in the UK, said: "Enterprise Engineering Services Limited has a long history of servicing the energy industry across the UK but, like many businesses in the sector, it has been negatively impacted by the low oil price and the consequent reduction in upstream activity.

"However, the company has a strong reputation in its markets, together with an asset base which will be of interest to other operators, principally comprising its forward order book, two property facilities, and a variety of machinery in addition to Intellectual Property.

"We will do everything we can to seek a buyer who may be able to protect the company and would encourage any party who has an interest in acquiring the company’s business and its assets to contact us as soon as possible.”