Last month, on 28 August, almost exactly 51 years to the day since its incorporation, £313m-turnover contractor Ardmore Construction Ltd (ACL) was put into administration.

In the half-century of its operation, the business – set up by brothers Cormac and Patrick Byrne in Catford, south-east London – has been responsible for building tens of thousands of homes, many of them high-rise projects for housebuilders, and made them one of the richest families in the UK.

But, in the wake of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower and the subsequent Building Safety Act, ACL’s huge construction achievement became a giant millstone around its neck. Post Grenfell, it quickly became apparent that common industry build practices on high-rise homes had not been safe enough, and ACL appears to have been no exception to this.

Six claims for remediation works have been launched against the firm in the past year alone, valued at more than £150m.

Ultimately, while the wider construction group has survived, ACL’s future became untenable. The question many in the sector are asking is whether other firms are similarly affected.

This is particularly the case given that recent legal judgments appear to have confirmed that contractors are firmly on the hook for remediation costs. As one very senior contractor CEO says: “My concern is that we’re going to see many more situations like this.” So, how widespread is the issue and how bad could this get?