Last phase of Britannia Project on hold as council contractor enters administration

The final stage of a major regeneration project in Hackney has stalled after the lead contractor fell into administration following a High Court ruling.

On Tuesday 16 June, Hackney Council announced that construction on Shoreditch Parkside, the final phase of the £154m Britannia Project, has paused as Ardmore Construction faces potential insolvency.

The company appointed administrators on Thursday 11 June after the High Court found multiple companies within the Ardmore Group liable for historic claims around cladding safety.

The local authority confirmed that though the court ruling was unrelated to the Britannia Project, the firm’s financial collapse has left the latest development in limbo. In a statement, the council said it was “working on contingency plans to get the new homes completed as soon as possible in the event of any insolvency”.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for all stakeholders in the project, and are committed to completing the development as soon as possible, including the 51 social rent homes,” the council added.

The Shoreditch Parkside development is slated to deliver four new buildings containing 371 homes – 290 for outright sale, 51 for social rent and 30 for shared ownership. Hackney Council confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that none of these properties have yet been built and no social tenancies have been allocated so far.

The council said: “We are making contact with residents who are due to move into the social rented homes in the development, and those who had expressed interest in the homes for private sale, to explain the delay.”

The halted development comes months after the council’s plan for up to 90 new homes at Lincoln Court Estate was paused amid spiralling construction costs. The council had already spent £2.1m preparing for the development.

Including Britannia Place, Ardmore has 10 major construction sites in the capital, according to Construction Enquirer. These include the £500m Tribeca project in King’s Cross, the Hammersmith Civic Campus and Hackney Yards in Hackney Wick.

On Tuesday16 June, a spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham Council told the LDRS the campus project would be “business as usual” despite Ardmore’s situation. They added: “We have long been aware of Ardmore Construction Group Ltd’s circumstances and have prepared accordingly.”

Hackney Council told the LDRS it had been monitoring Ardmore’s position since April 2026, after the High Court ruled against the firm and “put their future at risk”. Since the news of Ardmore’s collapse last week, administrators have confirmed that roughly 275 Ardmore Group staff across six firms have been laid off.

Commenting on the administration, a spokesperson for Ardmore told Construction Enquirer: “This is a deeply disappointing outcome for the construction group, its employees and its stakeholders.

“Our focus is now on preserving value in the wider group, protecting the continuing businesses where possible, and pursuing the appeal against a judgment which we believe raises important questions for the wider industry.”

The Britannia Project’s earlier phases saw the delivery of a new Britannia Leisure Centre, which opened in 2021, and the City of London Academy Shoreditch Park the same year. These were built by Morgan Sindall Construction. Hackney Council appointed Ardmore to carry out the project’s final phase in 2023.

As of Tuesday 16 June, Ardmore’s security staff continue to be present on site 24 hours a day, and a mobile security unit is also patrolling the site.