Commercial recovery across a distressed buildings portfolio
A buildings contractor with four concurrent live projects showing margin deterioration engaged Ashforte for a portfolio-level commercial recovery — leakage audit, entitlement recovery, and reset of commercial discipline.
The situation
The contractor was carrying four concurrent live buildings projects. Reported margin across the portfolio had deteriorated over three consecutive quarters. The commercial director could identify some contributing factors but could not quantify the true portfolio position.
The internal commercial team was overworked and defensive — quarterly forecasts had become optimistic rather than analytical. The COO required an independent honest position review across every project.
The COO engaged Ashforte for a Margin Protection Review across the portfolio, with a mandate to identify leakage, quantify recovery opportunities, and reset commercial discipline going forward.
Ashforte's intervention
The engagement was structured around the following workstreams, delivered by a senior-led team operating to Ashforte's standardized delivery protocols.
Margin position review
- Contract sum vs earned reconciliation per project
- Variation and claim recovery review
- Cost coding integrity check
- Subcontract exposure review
- Provision and write-down commentary
Leakage identification
- Unclaimed variation inventory — approximately USD 8.4M identified
- Uncertified value inventory — approximately USD 5.2M identified
- Undocumented back-charge opportunities — approximately USD 1.6M identified
- Overpaid subcontract commitments — approximately USD 900K identified
Recovery execution
- Variation submission preparation across the portfolio
- Certification dispute drafting for uncertified value
- Back-charge documentation and formal issuance
- Subcontract commercial reset across the portfolio
The result
Approximately USD 11.2M of recoverable value was formally pursued through variation submissions, certification disputes and back-charges. Actual recovery achieved by year-end approximately USD 6.8M (61%).
Portfolio reported margin recovered to approximately the position originally forecast. Year-end margin correction avoided.
The COO engaged Ashforte on a Portfolio Retainer to prevent recurrence — with continuous CVR discipline, change control and margin protection review running across every live project.
Lessons
The lessons from an engagement are usually more transferable than the specific results. What Ashforte's clients typically take away from case studies like this one:
Commercial leakage compounds silently. USD 11.2M of recoverable value was invisible to the reported margin position until an independent review surfaced it. Portfolio-wide continuous discipline is the mechanism that would have prevented the accumulation in the first place.
61% recovery on identified leakage was a strong outcome — the constraint was time-bar and evidence rather than negotiating position on the remainder.
Margin Protection Reviews are diagnostic; Portfolio Retainers are preventive. The engagement here moved from one to the other because the contractor understood the difference.
This engagement sat within Commercial Management.
Cost, value, change and cash controlled at the same standard across every project.
Explore Commercial ManagementInitial Commercial Risk Assessment
By invitation, Ashforte provides qualified contractors with an initial commercial risk assessment on one live project. A structured senior review of contract, claims and commercial-control exposure, delivered as a documented briefing with a 30-day action plan. Qualification is determined in the first conversation.
A structured review of one live project — offered by invitation, at no cost, to qualified contractors.
Request an initial assessment- 01Review of selected project documents (contract, correspondence, variations, programme)
- 02Identification of key contract and commercial risk exposures
- 03Short maturity assessment across notices, variations, claims and payment controls
- 04A practical 30-day action plan
- 05Findings call with the project or commercial lead
- Contractors with active commercial pressure on a live project
- Variation or claims exposure requiring senior review
- Payment or certification issues affecting cash
- Stretched commercial teams needing external senior view
- Final account or close-out situations