Specialists International
This Knowledge Check tests your understanding of the decision of the Technology and Construction Court in Crest Nicholson Regeneration Limited and others v Ardmore Construction Limited (in Administration) and others [2026] EWHC 789 (TCC). The court had to decide whether to make building liability orders under sections 130 and 131 of the Building Safety Act 2022 against companies associated with an insolvent principal contractor, both in anticipation of any liability yet to be established and in respect of a liability determined by an adjudicator. The judgment matters to anyone advising on building safety claims, corporate structures or adjudication.
Ardmore Construction Limited was engaged under a design and build contract dated 13 December 2005, based on the JCT 1998 form with contractor's design, to build the Admiralty Quarter development in Portsmouth: 18 buildings and a 21 storey tower, constructed from 2007 to March 2009. After the Grenfell Tower fire, investigations were said to reveal combustible insulation, missing cavity barriers and other fire safety defects. An adjudicator decided on 29 August 2025 that Ardmore should pay about GBP 14.9 million; the company had entered administration the day before. Crest applied for an anticipatory building liability order and an order attaching the adjudication liability to seven associated Ardmore companies. Mr Justice Constable heard the application over three days in March 2026.
The judgment works through the building liability order framework in section 130, the guidance in Triathlon Homes LLP v Stratford Village Development Partnership, BDW Trading Limited v URS Corporation Ltd, 381 Southwark Park Road RTM Company Ltd v Click St Andrews Ltd and Willmott Dixon Construction Limited v Prater, the Fiona Trust approach to the scope of adjudication clauses, and severance under Willow Corp S.A.R.L v MTD Contractors Limited. Both orders sought were made.
- The parties, the Admiralty Quarter development and the design and build contract
- The alleged external wall and other fire safety defects
- The adjudicator's decision for about GBP 14.9 million and Ardmore's administration
- The section 130 framework: relevant liability, associates and the just and equitable test
- The authorities on remediation contribution orders and building liability orders
- Anticipatory building liability orders and the two stage process
- Whether an adjudicator's decision creates a relevant liability
- The Fiona Trust approach to disputes arising under the contract and the DPA
- The undisclosed principal challenge and severance of an adjudicator's decision
- The orders made and their practical consequences