The Ardmore CVA creditor approval process has concluded, with all seven Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) voted through, drawing a line under one of London’s most prominent main contracting businesses after more than 50 years of operation. Founder and chairman Cormac Byrne described the outcome as a necessary step, while expressing disappointment that the group would no longer operate as a main contractor.
Administration, moratorium and the road to CVA
The sequence that led to the Ardmore CVA creditor approval began when Ardmore Construction Group Ltd and its subsidiaries entered administration. According to Construction News, administrators from BTG were appointed to Ardmore Construction Group Ltd in June, alongside Ardmore Fitout Ltd, Ardmore Major Projects Ltd, Ardmore Regeneration Ltd, Landmark Facades Ltd and Ardmore Hotels & Commercial Ltd. Ardmore Construction Ltd itself entered administration in August 2025.
Following those appointments, the group filed moratorium notices for seven further companies in June, providing breathing space for Ardmore Group Holdings Ltd, Ardmore Group Ltd, Byrne Properties Ltd, Celebration Homes Ltd, Paddington Construction Ltd, Systemhaven Ltd and Byrne Estates (Kensal Green) Ltd to explore a restructuring path. Business recovery specialist BTG was engaged across all seven entities.
Repayment proposals were put to creditors in August. The final vote, completed this week, saw all seven CVAs approved. Ardmore stated that the restructuring would deliver a better outcome for creditors than liquidation would have done.
Building Liability Orders and the legacy residential claims
The collapse of the construction arm was triggered by remediation claims and subsequent Building Liability Orders (BLOs) relating to legacy residential developments. Ardmore continues to dispute those claims. The BLOs, a mechanism introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 to extend liability for defective buildings to associated companies, have proved a significant exposure for several major contractors over recent years, and the Ardmore situation illustrates the structural financial risk they can carry for groups with historic residential portfolios.
BTG and law firm Kingsley Napley worked alongside Ardmore on the CVA proposals. BTG partner Asher Miller said: ‘Over the past few months, we have been working hard to find the best outcome for creditors by analysing the assets of Ardmore and its business operations. This includes protecting, as best we can, its remaining assets, employees and its creditor base.’ Miller added that the group would now take the ‘next steps in the restructuring,’ describing the CVA process as ‘a vital step to taking the Group forwards and ensuring that it has a positive future ahead of it.’
Ardmore CVA creditor approval: Byrne’s statement
Byrne’s public statement was measured but candid. ‘The decision to place our construction businesses into administration and subsequently present these CVAs has not been easy, but we acknowledge they have been critical steps in securing our future and supporting our creditors,’ he said. He confirmed the group had worked with BTG and Kingsley Napley to ‘explore all realistic alternatives, including liquidation,’ before concluding the CVA route offered more favourable terms.
‘Although this is a positive step, we are disappointed to no longer be operating as a main contractor,’ Byrne said. ‘We remain immensely proud of the work we have done over half a century and I would like to thank everyone that has supported and worked in Ardmore’s construction businesses during that time.’
Founded in 1974, Ardmore built a reputation across some of London’s most complex and high-profile projects. Its portfolio included Raffles London at The OWO, Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, Corinthia London, The Ned and The Whiteley, developments that shaped significant stretches of the capital’s built environment over five decades.
With the CVAs now approved, BTG will oversee the next phase of the restructuring across the seven entities covered by the arrangements, with the group’s remaining non-construction businesses continuing to operate under the agreed creditor repayment timetable.
