BOSSES at a building contractors are reassuring people that the business has not entered administration.

Forrest, based in Dodd Lane off Chorley Road, Westhoughton has entered refinance talks but chiefs say its future is safe for now

The company is in discussions over a refinance deal with several financial institutions.

Keith Reid, chief financial officer of the Forrest Group, said: “We are aware that there are a lot of rumours in the market, but at the moment the company is not in administration.

“The company is in the process of trying to secure a refinance deal and if we are unsuccessful there are a number of other viable options that we are working on.”

Mr Reid refused to comment on why the company needed to refinance, saying only that the company “have had a number of challenges on a number of projects”.

He also refused disclose who the company is seeking to refinance with, but did say that the firm been in discussion with “a lot of financial institutions”.

Forrest employs around 400 people across four divisions, however no job losses are expected in the immediate future, Mr Reid said.

Last year the firm announced that around 30 people would be made redundant as part of “restructuring” in order to focus on what it labelled as “growth markets”.

At the time Forrest said that its outlook post-restructure was “positive”, having secured the then highest value of contract wins in the company’s history the previous year.

Forrest was formed in 1955 in Longridge, Lancashire and relocated to Bolton in 2010.

According to their website the company is currently contracted for 25 construction, energy, housing or refurbishment projects, including several luxury apartment buildings in Manchester valued at a collective development value of almost £95 million.

They are also are contracted to supply solar panels for various care homes by Bolton Council, perform refurbishments for Bolton at Home, and carry out work for United Utilities, the universities of Leeds, Bradford, Manchester and Lancaster and social and community organisation ForViva.

In 2011 a winding up petition for Forrest was submitted to the High Court of Justice by the commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs but was dismissed.