A TAKEOVER deal that would save hundreds of jobs at a struggling Suffolk building firm has been delayed until tomorrow.

A TAKEOVER deal that would save hundreds of jobs at a struggling Suffolk building firm has been delayed until tomorrow.

Deliberations between the administrators of Haymills, based in Stowmarket, and prospective new owners Vinci Plc dragged on throughout today and the parties missed the chance to complete the deal.

Representatives will need to briefly attend court on Thursday to tie-up the arrangement that should protect the company's 300 staff in Suffolk.

The future of the 98-year-old construction firm, which has worked on some of the most high-profile building projects in the region in recent years, was left hanging in the balance after its overdraft was suspended by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Payments going out of the account were frozen and staff have not received their wages since. Sub-contractors, who are owed hundreds of thousands of pounds, have also gone unpaid.

But four offers were put on the table late last week and over the weekend it emerged that French construction giant Vinci - one of the largest building firms in the world - had been selected by the administrators elect.

Although a deal was expected to have been concluded at some point today, it now seems that the details of the agreement will take more time to finalise.

A spokesman for Haymills said: “Deliberations have taken longer than expected and it looks more likely now that everything will be concluded tomorrow.”

Vinci have so far declined to comment on the matter.

A spokesman for RBS said that due to strict rules governing customer confidentiality, they were unable to comment on the case.

She said: “We are determined to support customers that need our help, but this has to be on a viable commercial basis.”