Construction has restarted at the £500m 100 Kensington residential development after SevenCapital established a new main contractor to take control of delivery following Ardmore Group’s administration.
Existing funding support from Maslow Capital remains in place and continues to be deployed towards completing the 462-home West London scheme.
Maslow originally provided a £258m development facility to support the project, which is being delivered through a 50:50 joint venture between SevenCapital and MARK Capital Management.
The intervention provides greater certainty around one of the largest residential construction projects undertaken in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Work temporarily paused following Ardmore’s collapse but the scheme is now more than 30% complete.
DELIVERY BROUGHT UNDER GROUP CONTROL
The new main contractor, Seven Capital (Woodrow) Ltd, operates under the management of the SevenCapital Group and is led by SevenCapital COO James Moody.
The developer expects more than 500 people to be working on site by the autumn.
Moody says: “Whilst construction works on the 100 Kensington scheme were forced into a temporary pause due to the administration of Ardmore Group, we are pleased to confirm that the works have now recommenced under a new main contractor, Seven Capital (Woodrow) Ltd – formed under the management of the SevenCapital Group.
“The new contractor has a senior leadership management team led by myself, working closely alongside our construction director, managers and experts who are highly experienced in all areas of construction, health and safety and planning.
“The existing funding support from Maslow Capital continues to be deployed to complete the development. It is anticipated that by the autumn there will be over 500 people working back on site.”
CONTINGENCY PLAN ACTIVATED
SevenCapital says it had been monitoring Ardmore’s financial position and had developed contingency arrangements to protect the project if the contractor entered administration.
Pic credit: SevenCapital
Moody adds: “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.
“100 Kensington is now back on track and currently scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The development to date has seen an ongoing steady flow of off-plan sales and this positive news about the future of the development will help to maintain buyer confidence prior to the main launch of built product on the site, anticipated next year.”
£40M OF EARLY SALES AGREED
The development will provide 276 market-sale apartments and 186 affordable homes across seven buildings arranged around a landscaped podium garden.
Its centrepiece is The Oria, a 29-storey tower containing 129 apartments and penthouses. Topping out is scheduled for October 2026.
Almost £40m of off-plan sales have already been agreed at The Oria. The Ellery, the first mansion building containing market-sale apartments, is due to launch in September.
The wider development will include a health club, swimming pool, gym, event pavilion, concierge facilities and retail, office and community space. Phased completions are planned from the final quarter of 2027, with final build completion expected around the turn of 2028.
Pic credit: SevenCapital
