Ardmore Group loss and ACL liabilities: risk and cashflow lens for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Ardmore Group has reported a £42.3m pre-tax loss on £345.9m turnover for the year to 30 September 2024, driven by historic project losses, multi-year remedial works and a £15m adjudication award linked to its former general contracting arm, Ardmore Construction Limited (ACL). Management says trading since year-end has “materially” improved, with profit before tax of about £11m expected from continuing operations in 2025 and a strong forward order book including the Kensington Forum Hotel. However, Building Liability Order claims over alleged defective works by ACL have triggered a material uncertainty over going concern, despite year-end cash of £27.6m and auditor agreement.
Technical Brief
- Building Liability Order (BLO) claims centre on ACL projects, now being actively defended in early-stage court proceedings.
- Main contracting activities have been transferred to the new Ardmore Construction Group Limited, separating discontinued operations.
- Accounts explicitly flag that BLO outcomes may fall outside the standard going‑concern assessment period.
- Governance and delivery processes have been “strengthened” post‑2024, indicating tighter project controls and risk management on live schemes.
Our Take
Within our 660-piece Infrastructure set, few UK contractors of Ardmore Group’s scale show a swing from multi‑year losses to a forecast profit before tax in the next year, which suggests management is banking heavily on resolving legacy contract and adjudication drag by 2025.
The £15m adjudication award tied to Ardmore Construction Limited is material relative to the group’s year‑end cash position, implying that any further adverse rulings or delayed receipts on UK building projects could quickly tighten liquidity despite the current cash buffer.
Turnover contraction alongside deepening losses is atypical among UK building contractors in our database, where most recent pieces show margin pressure but relatively stable revenue, signalling that Ardmore may be selectively shrinking exposure to higher‑risk projects rather than chasing volume.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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