Developer SevenCapital has restarted work on its £500m 100 Kensington residential scheme after taking control of construction through a group company following the administration of Ardmore.
The developer said Seven Capital (Woodrow) Ltd is now acting as main contractor on the 462-home West Cromwell Road project, where construction had been temporarily halted by Ardmore’s collapse.
Seven Capital (Woodrow) is an existing SevenCapital group company incorporated in 2016 rather than a newly registered business.
A new senior construction management team is now running the job under SevenCapital chief operating officer James Moody, working alongside the group’s construction director and site management team.
SevenCapital in-house delivery team
SevenCapital expects more than 500 workers to be back on the project by the autumn.
The developer said it had been aware of Ardmore’s financial difficulties and had prepared a contingency plan to secure completion of the scheme if the contractor failed.
Moody said: “We had previously been aware of some of the financial issues facing Ardmore, which allowed us the time to develop a solid contingency plan to secure the completion of 100 Kensington should the effective administration happen, and at the same time diversify and extend SevenCapital’s capabilities for future schemes.”
Existing funding from Maslow Capital remains in place. The lender originally provided a £258m four-year development facility for the SevenCapital and MARK Capital Management joint venture, with Ardmore appointed as main contractor.
The project is now more than 30% complete.
Its centrepiece is the 29-storey Oria tower containing 129 private apartments and penthouses. SevenCapital said the tower is due to top out in October.
The wider 1.7ha development will provide 276 private and 186 affordable homes across seven buildings, along with leisure, retail, office and community space.
John McAslan & Partners produced the architectural masterplan, with Corstorphine & Wright responsible for detailed design.
Phased completions are planned from the fourth quarter of 2027, with the overall scheme expected to finish around the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028.
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