The council is preparing to enter a pre construction services agreement with Wates in September, which has already taken over management and security of the site.

Ardmore was appointed in 2023 to deliver the final £197m phase of the Britannia Masterplan in Shoreditch, comprising 371 homes across four tower blocks.

The scheme includes 51 council homes for social rent, 30 shared ownership homes and 290 flats for private sale, which are being used to cross-subsidise the wider regeneration programme.

Ardmore had been on site for nearly three years and was around six months from completion when its construction companies entered administration on 11 June.

Hackney council canvassed 14 contractors about completing the job but found firms were unwilling to compete through a conventional mini-tender because of the risks attached to taking over partially completed work.

It has now opted to pursue a direct appointment of Wates through the Notting Hill Genesis contractors framework.

Wates is now assessing completed works, identifying defects or damage and negotiating with Ardmore’s former supply chain.

A full construction deal is expected to go before Hackney’s Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee in September or October.

The council warned the final cost will now exceed the original budget because of the delay, remobilisation and contractor replacement costs.

Before Ardmore’s collapse, completion was expected around November 2026, although the project was already about three months late. Hackney is currently working on an indicative handover date of late summer 2027.