The cost of complying with the Building Safety Act has blown a hole in the latest accounts from Willmott Dixon.

And the contractor vowed to go after “designers, fire engineers, supply chain and insurers” to reclaim a “substantial portion” of the £62m it has set aside for building safety and cladding retrofits.

Accounts for the year to 31 December 2022 show turnover up to £1.15bn from £1.1bn last time generating an operating loss of £15,000 from a £22.9m profit the year before.

Group chief executive Rick Willmott said: “The implications of the Building Safety Act (BSA) continue to be interpreted and there remains considerable uncertainty on the Government’s evolving regulatory position on high-rise residential construction which will only lead to the postponement or cancellation of developments whilst the industry waits for clear and unambiguous regulation.

“Our own results for 2022 were impacted by further provisions we have made to address the implications of responding to the BSA.

“The aggregate provision for these legacy issues stands at a very material £62m and we naturally expect to recover a substantial portion of this from designers, fire engineers, supply chain and insurers who, so far, have not faced up to their responsibilities or obligations across those ‘in scope’ projects.”