Housebuilder McInerney Holdings painted a bleak picture of the state of demand in the UK and Ireland as it took a €156m (£137m) impairment charge on its land bank on Monday.

The move has tipped the Dublin-listed company into negative equity and placed it beyond previously agreed banking covenants. However, McInerney, which is also listed in London, said it would not breach its tangible net worth covenants after its bankers agreed to defer tests as part of ongoing banking negotiations.