News that Ardmore’s construction business has gone into administration really cannot have been a shock for too many people in the industry. But it is still shocking.

One lawyer, speaking in the wake of the news, wondered: “Who would want to be a contractor?”

Well, the answer to that is, still, quite a few but it is an increasingly asked question.

Take firms working in high-rise residential, for example. Why would anyone want to work in that sector? Rising costs, mountains of increased red tape and the very real prospect (as evidenced by Ardmore) that a job you thought you had finished years ago is going to actually cost you a fortune in the end.