IN Brief:
- AC1 Construction has formally replaced Torsion Construction on the 129-apartment One Victoria development.
- AC1 had already taken control of the site under a July letter of intent before the replacement contract was completed.
- Practical completion remains targeted for December 2026, with 105 apartments exchanged and seven further units reserved.
Zentra Group has formalised AC1 Construction’s appointment to complete the One Victoria residential development in Manchester following the administration of previous contractor Torsion Construction.
The replacement building contract covers the remaining works on the 129-apartment scheme and moves AC1 from an interim letter of intent arrangement into a full contractual role. Practical completion remains targeted for December 2026, maintaining the fourth-quarter timetable set after the earlier contractor disruption.
AC1 took control of the site under a letter of intent on 30 July after Zentra Great Ducie Street Limited terminated Torsion’s employment under the previous building contract. Torsion had entered administration the previous day, leaving the developer to transfer responsibility for a project already at an advanced stage of construction.
The interim arrangement allowed AC1 to assume principal contractor duties and begin agreed works while Zentra, its funder, professional advisers, and the incoming contractor finalised the outstanding scope, cost plan, and programme. Signing the replacement contract now gives those remaining works a formal delivery structure through to completion.
One Victoria is being developed by Zentra Great Ducie Street Limited, with Zentra acting as development manager and holding a 30% equity interest in the project vehicle. The group also has a loan to the development with a face value of £4.1m, leaving its financial position tied closely to completion, apartment handovers, and the release of project proceeds.
The scheme was substantially built when the previous contractor failed. Zentra said in July that apartment fit-out was largely complete and external façade work was in its final stages, with the remaining physical programme expected to amount to roughly eight weeks once replacement delivery arrangements were established.
The residual scope included external and communal areas, final finishes, snagging, testing and commissioning, together with the inspections and approvals required before practical completion. Contractor failure at that point in a project can leave a relatively limited amount of visible construction alongside a more complicated transfer of warranties, design information, testing records, subcontractor responsibilities, and completion documentation.
AC1’s early mobilisation reduced the gap between Torsion leaving the project and a replacement team taking operational control. That continuity is particularly important during commissioning, when incomplete records or unclear responsibility can delay final certification even after the physical building work appears substantially complete.
The December target represents a further adjustment to One Victoria’s programme. Earlier in 2026, Zentra had expected completion by the end of the second quarter before moving the date to the end of the third quarter as progress under the former contractor fell behind schedule. Torsion’s administration then pushed the anticipated finish into the fourth quarter.
The development’s sales position increases the pressure on the completion programme. Of the 129 apartments, 105 have exchanged contracts and another seven are reserved, leaving 17 units available. Practical completion therefore unlocks more than the end of construction: it enables a substantial number of exchanged transactions to progress through handover and allows capital committed to the project to begin returning through the development structure.
The remaining programme also has to reconcile work completed under two principal contractors. AC1 must establish the condition and compliance of installed work, confirm which subcontractors and suppliers remain available, close defects, complete commissioning, and secure the documents needed for final certification. Any disagreement over responsibility for inherited work has the potential to slow completion even where little heavy construction remains.
Late contractor replacement can also affect warranties and building information. Product guarantees, commissioning certificates, test results, design approvals, and subcontractor records may have been generated under the former delivery team, requiring the developer and replacement contractor to establish that the information is complete and acceptable before handover.
That administrative work runs alongside the final physical packages. Communal spaces, external areas, façade completion, snagging, services testing, and final approvals must all converge on the same practical completion date if apartment handovers are to proceed without another programme movement.
The signed contract removes the largest procedural uncertainty created by Torsion’s administration. AC1 is no longer operating solely under interim authority, Zentra has retained its December target, and the remaining works can proceed against an agreed contractual framework.
The project now enters the less visible but demanding final phase in which commissioning, defects, approvals, documentation, and remaining construction have to close together. With the apartments largely complete and most units already exchanged or reserved, the success of the contractor transition will be measured by whether One Victoria reaches practical completion without another change to its delivery date.