Horizon Management has secured more than £350,000 in government funding to support cladding remediation and fire safety works at residential buildings in Sheffield and Leicester, preventing significant costs from being passed on to leaseholders.
The Sheffield-based block management company said the funding was secured during the first quarter of 2026 and required extensive engagement with government bodies, fire authorities and regulators alongside detailed knowledge of the Building Safety Act framework and grant eligibility rules.
At a residential building in Leicester, leaseholders avoided more than £106,000 in anticipated interim fire safety costs after Horizon Management secured funding for a temporary fire alarm system.
The building’s external wall system had been formally identified as requiring cladding remediation in 2024. While long-term remediation plans were being developed, the building faced an immediate requirement for interim safety measures.
FIRE ENFORCEMENT NOTICE
A waking watch arrangement had initially been identified as the likely solution, with costs estimated at up to £30,000 per month for leaseholders because the building was not initially considered eligible for funding support.
Horizon Management instead engaged directly with administrators of the Waking Watch Relief Fund and the local Fire and Rescue Service, ultimately securing a Fire Enforcement Notice confirming that interim safety measures were required.
This enabled the company to secure grant funding for the installation of a temporary radio-linked fire alarm system without the need for an active waking watch arrangement.
As a result, the estimated £106,000 of interim safety costs were avoided.
COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS
At a separate residential building in Sheffield, concerns had been raised over the presence of potentially combustible materials within the building’s external wall system.
The building qualified as a medium-risk building under the Building Safety Act 2022 and required a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) to determine the extent of remediation works required.
The anticipated cost of the FRAEW assessment was approximately £21,000, which would otherwise have been recovered through service charges apportioned across 56 leaseholders.
HARDSHIP FUNDING APPLICATION
Horizon Management submitted a hardship-based funding application to central government, citing the building’s financial circumstances and the potential impact on leaseholders if the costs were passed through the service charge.
The application was approved, resulting in the full £21,000 assessment cost being funded through government support.
Following completion of the FRAEW, a further £250,000 package was secured to support pre-tender remediation planning work.
In total, the combined funding secured across the two buildings amounted to approximately £377,000.
The cases highlight the ongoing complexity surrounding cladding remediation funding and the role managing agents increasingly play in navigating building safety legislation, grant eligibility and regulatory engagement on behalf of leaseholders.
BUILDING SAFETY ACT
Chris Browne (main picture), CEO of Horizon Management, says: “These outcomes weren’t inevitable – they required detailed knowledge of the Building Safety Act framework, the ability to identify the right funding routes, and a willingness to engage with regulators and fire authorities that many managing agents shy away from.
“At both buildings, leaseholders were facing potentially significant financial exposure, and challenging conventional interpretations of the eligibility criteria made the difference.”
