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The financial demise of Lancsville Construction has left its biggest project one-and-a-half years late and more than 16% over budget.

Pioneer Point, a residential scheme in Ilford, Essex, is now expected to cost more than 拢49m to finish and is scheduled for completion in November 2011, owing to a slowdown in work in the months leading to the 拢131m-turnover contractor鈥檚 collapse in December. Its original budget was 拢42m.

In addition to costing developer Empire Property Group an extra 拢7m in construction costs, the delay has lost it 拢25m in pre-sales.

Part of the additional building cost has also been blamed on a number of defects, including sagging floors owing to the faulty erection of temporary propping.

Tom O鈥橠onnell, managing director at Empire, said: 鈥淭he defects have been overcome now, but it was unquestionably the perilous financial situation at Lancsville that caused the slowdown in work. Luckily we had anticipated the administration and decided that we wouldn鈥檛 stop our site operations.鈥�

To ensure work at the site continued, O鈥橠onnell set up a new contractor, London & Regent International, to take on the design-and-build contract.

The firm is headed by ex-production director at developer Oracle, Ben Kellythorn, who has kept on key subcontractors including Yuanda for the cladding and Designer Group for the M&E package.

Lancsville administrator Vantis is still establishing the value of assets left by the contractor and said a report would be available to the firm鈥檚 1,000 creditors within 60 days of a 17 June deadline. Administrator Nick O鈥橰eilly repeated warnings that money was unlikely to be forthcoming because of the 拢8.5m owed to secured creditor Agilo.

Work on other Lancsville sites has also been taken on by rival contracts. Ardmore is finishing the 拢12m Larnaca Works project for Union Developments in Bermondsey, south London, while Sheldon Construction has taken on a 拢11m residential development in Hackney, north-east London.