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Leadbitter Construction looks likely to be bought by its management after rival firms showed little appetite to bid for it.

The speculation follows news that Heijmans, Leadbitter鈥檚 Dutch parent, had put the Oxford-based business up for sale after releasing poor overall results.

The boss of one major contractor said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 quietly been on the market for a while. I鈥檓 not sure who would buy them as they don鈥檛 do anything the rest of us can鈥檛. It鈥檚 got a good reputation but it鈥檚 not big and not small, which is not a very good space to be in at the moment.鈥�

A senior figure at a 拢1bn-plus turnover company questioned whether the company鈥檚 exposure to the education market was attractive. He said: 鈥淎 year ago it would have been a different story. We鈥檙e highly unlikely to look at it now, though, given the doubts over education spending.鈥�

Another source suggested it may be a target for French giant Bouygues, which operates in the south of England but is looking to expand into the Midlands. It is understood Bouygues ran the rule over Kent-based Denne Construction before it was bought by Leadbitter for 拢17m in 2006 and is now planning to examine Leadbitter. The company declined to comment.

According to one source close to Leadbitter, a management buyout is being studied by executives.

The source said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no rush to make a decision but the management could buy the company back rather than allow another group to take over. Raising the money shouldn鈥檛 be too much of a problem.鈥�

Chief executive Bob Rendell owned the company before selling to Heijmans in 2003.

Leadbitter is set to make 拢10m pre-tax profit on turnover of 拢318m this year. However, Heijmans made a pre-tax loss of 鈧�16m (拢14.2m) on turnover of 鈧�3.6bn (拢3.2bn) last year..

Guus Hoefsloot, its chairman, stepped down in May last year after the housing slump and rising costs hits its profit.

In its results last week, the group announced a 鈧�100m (拢88.5m) rights issue and a refinancing package with its lenders.