Hackney Council's ambitious Britannia Masterplan is facing significant budget overruns, with the cost of delivering Phase 2b now projected to exceed the approved budget of £196.875 million. The exact revised total cost is detailed in Exempt Appendix 1 of the report presented to the Hackney Council Cabinet on Monday, July 20, 2026.
The report to the Cabinet detailed that following the administration of Ardmore Construction Group (ACGL), which entered administration on Thursday, June 11, 2026, the Council is no longer able to complete the construction of the Britannia Phase 2b homes within the existing approved budget. All works on site were stopped, and Ardmore and their supply chain left the site the same day. The administrator handed back the security and management of the site to the Council on June 29, 2026, and the Council subsequently terminated the contract on July 2, 2026. The administration process itself is ongoing, with no expected completion timeline provided.
This situation is attributed to the additional time required to procure, mobilise, assess, and recommence works on site with a replacement contractor. The primary risk to cost escalation is identified as the time taken to recommence works.
Contingency planning has focused on being in a position to move forward with a replacement contractor as soon as the administration process allows. The Council's initial priority was to ensure the site was safe and secure, with critical services remaining operational to mitigate the risk of damage and warranty invalidation. The specific critical services maintained are not detailed.
Concurrent with this, the Council is working towards entering into a Pre Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) with Wates Construction Ltd to develop a recovery plan. The Council will work in an open book and collaborative manner with Wates and the supply chain over the next three months to agree a works contract to complete the works. It is currently anticipated that this will be recommended to the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee (CPIC) in September or October 2026, with a construction contract expected to be recommended for approval by the committee no later than the autumn.
To mitigate sales risk, the Council will consider off-plan sales to date, forecast sales going forward, and the impact of the economic context and project delays on these forecasts. The Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources has been delegated authority to explore all avenues to mitigate the Council's risk concerning the disposal of new homes on the site.
While a performance bond is in place for such eventualities, losses need to be incurred and demonstrated in order to be agreed and recovered from the bond provider. Cabinet will receive quarterly updates on the scheme. The Cabinet meeting on Monday, July 20, 2026, also noted revised estimated funding requirements and approved authority for the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources, to explore risk mitigation strategies. Further details on the meeting can be found in the Public reports pack.
