The supply chain hit is more contained than many had feared after firms tightened credit as concern grew over Ardmore’s exposure to major building safety claims.

Ardmore Construction Group entered administration on 11 June after Crest Nicholson secured a £14.99m adjudication decision over alleged fire safety defects at the 569-home Admiralty Quarter scheme in Portsmouth.

Administrators from BTG said the company was put into administration before Crest could secure a final charging order.

The move followed the earlier collapse of sister company Ardmore Construction Limited in August 2025, which exposed other group companies to potential Building Liability Orders under the Building Safety Act.

In their report to creditors, administrators said Ardmore Construction Group is facing 23 potential developer claims linked to work previously carried out by Ardmore Construction Limited.

No judgments have yet been made on those wider claims, but administrators warned total exposure could ultimately range from nil to £300m.

The creditor schedule lists 226 claims, including Crest’s claim, which is expected to be largely covered by an insurance policy.

Subcontractors are owed £5.1m, while other trade and expense creditors are owed a further £3.7m.

Employees have unsecured claims of £1.77m, alongside £441,000 of wages and holiday pay and around £131,000 in outstanding pension contributions.

HMRC is owed just over £5m.

Ardmore also had assets of £23.1m tied up in debtors, retentions and work in progress when administrators were appointed.

But specialist insolvency QS Kinetica estimates recoveries could be as low as £546,500 and reach just £1.57m in the best-case scenario.

Administrators expect enough cash to pay a dividend to preferential creditors, but said HMRC is unlikely to receive a secondary preferential payout.

Unsecured creditors, including subcontractors, are currently expected to receive nothing.