Developers In Trouble

[bewildered1]

Morning,

Just saw that the interest being paid by a developer with b/f loans of almost £2m has dropped from 2.3% to 1.5%. Developer has a relatively good rental income. This seems a bit favourable? I know others paying higher. Anyone know examples of rates currently being charged on new borrowings?

[PJ1977]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22382110

Two of Northern Ireland's wealthiest people are facing personal losses of almost £1.5m each over a failed property development in Scotland.

Jim and Jack Dobson were directors of Kinghorn Developments which was placed into administration in February.

The brothers had each loaned it £1.47m and, as the firm is now insolvent, the money will not be paid back.

[2buyornot2buy]

I wonder when Derek Harrison will bit the bullet.

[PJ1977]

I wonder when Derek Harrison will bit the bullet.

He's in an IVA and other family members have been bankrupted.

[2buyornot2buy]

I know, I was wondering when he'll declare bankruptcy. Most of his companies are shot.

He's the clothes selling one right?

[PJ1977]

I know, I was wondering when he'll declare bankruptcy. Most of his companies are shot.

He's the clothes selling one right?

Not him personaly - he started in eggs.

[2buyornot2buy]

Not him personaly - he started in eggs.

Is he not the owner of a popular clothing franchise?

[Shotoflight]

Ratepayers' £300k bill to clean up development site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22540132

Council ratepayers have had to foot a bill of almost £300,000 to clean up after developers who were caught out by the property crash.

The council now has a court order that means if the site is ever sold, it will get the money back, but Mr Martin concedes he does not know when, or whether, that will happen.

"It's very difficult to say. The property market has completely collapsed so why would anybody build houses here when there are houses all over Northern Ireland that can't be sold?

It is the largest site the council has had to pay for, and with the biggest bill. But it is not the only former development site which has had to be cleaned up at ratepayers' expense.

"Because of the property crash we've discovered the number of derelict sites and dangerous buildings has increased enormously," said Mr Martin.

"The owners didn't have the funds to fix it, so the council had to do the work," said Trevor Martin "We would have dealt with about 100 a year prior to the property crash, it now exceeds 400 a year.

"Of those 400, about 90% are dealt with by the owner, but in the last two years we've spent £70 to 80,000 each year doing work at the ratepayers expense." The council wants a change in the law and has been talking to Environment Minister Alex Attwood about re-drafting legislation that would allow councils to forcibly sell sites to recoup their costs.

"For ratepayers to pay money on a building that the owners subsequently gets the benefit of, is completely unacceptable."

The contractor who did the original demolition job has pleaded guilty to five charges relating to his work on the site and his failure to deal with the asbestos.

John Lewis, trading as John Lewis Plant Hire and Contracts and from Lany Road in Moira got a suspended sentence when he appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday.

Louis Burns of the Health and Safety Executive, which took the prosecution, said: "Our message to the demolition industry is that we won't tolerate this kind of reckless, cowboy approach to work.

"If you are prepared to take that risk, we will put you before the courts."

[Shotoflight]

Victim. And bad luck.

Developer Jim Treacy's G8 luxury resort dream

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22545421

Mr Treacy said he believed he was a victim because the banks failed to take a long-term view and politicians failed to regulate them.

"I have people who have seen what has happened, who have seen what I did, mostly, have seen how unlucky I was, who have seen how unfairly I've been treated.

[PJ1977]

Ratepayers' £300k bill to clean up development site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22540132

Council ratepayers have had to foot a bill of almost £300,000 to clean up after developers who were caught out by the property crash.

The council now has a court order that means if the site is ever sold, it will get the money back, but Mr Martin concedes he does not know when, or whether, that will happen.

"It's very difficult to say. The property market has completely collapsed so why would anybody build houses here when there are houses all over Northern Ireland that can't be sold?

It is the largest site the council has had to pay for, and with the biggest bill. But it is not the only former development site which has had to be cleaned up at ratepayers' expense.

"Because of the property crash we've discovered the number of derelict sites and dangerous buildings has increased enormously," said Mr Martin.

"The owners didn't have the funds to fix it, so the council had to do the work," said Trevor Martin "We would have dealt with about 100 a year prior to the property crash, it now exceeds 400 a year.

"Of those 400, about 90% are dealt with by the owner, but in the last two years we've spent £70 to 80,000 each year doing work at the ratepayers expense." The council wants a change in the law and has been talking to Environment Minister Alex Attwood about re-drafting legislation that would allow councils to forcibly sell sites to recoup their costs.

"For ratepayers to pay money on a building that the owners subsequently gets the benefit of, is completely unacceptable."

The contractor who did the original demolition job has pleaded guilty to five charges relating to his work on the site and his failure to deal with the asbestos.

John Lewis, trading as John Lewis Plant Hire and Contracts and from Lany Road in Moira got a suspended sentence when he appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday.

Louis Burns of the Health and Safety Executive, which took the prosecution, said: "Our message to the demolition industry is that we won't tolerate this kind of reckless, cowboy approach to work.

"If you are prepared to take that risk, we will put you before the courts."

Developer is Brackhill - borrowings of about £30m from AIB, now controlled by Nama. Liabilities exceed assets by £20m+.

[BelfastVI]

Developer is Brackhill - borrowings of about £30m from AIB, now controlled by Nama. Liabilities exceed assets by £20m+.

This is the problem with not only Nama. They will not let a developer spend money unless it will directly bring in money.

[PJ1977]

This is the problem with not only Nama. They will not let a developer spend money unless it will directly bring in money.

Additional problem here is that Brackhill have not assembled the whole site. They were supposed to buy the last bit just when the crash hit. They've been hit with a specific performance order but no to avail as yet. If they want to get the last bit in place Nama will have to come up with the (relatively tiny) money.

[BelfastVI]

Additional problem here is that Brackhill have not assembled the whole site. They were supposed to buy the last bit just when the crash hit. They've been hit with a specific performance order but no to avail as yet. If they want to get the last bit in place Nama will have to come up with the (relatively tiny) money.

Oh dear. There is no remedy for the specific performance. I assume Brackhill is a SPV.

[PJ1977]

Oh dear. There is no remedy for the specific performance. I assume Brackhill is a SPV.

No they own a few random sites in various places - Shandon Park, Antrim, Annsborough.. Never heard of them til recently. Although the vendor got the specific performance order ages ago they have not enforced, presumably because they reckon Nama might still allow a sale to be concluded.

Edited May 16, 2013 by PJ1977

[ABC 123]

Oh dear. There is no remedy for the specific performance. I assume Brackhill is a SPV.

Brackhill doesnt look like an SPV.

Looks like the digger and shovel man has been chastised solely. What about the developer who has overall responsibility for Health and Safety?.Was there a CDM coordinator?.

On any site I have been on they are over the site before the architect.

The council have spent the money on a court order.Nama with the benefit of first charge on the property are going to receive all the value from the site including the increased value now that the site has been cleaned up.

Why have the Council not placed a winding up order upon the company for the debt.With that action pending Nama will be forced to either forward money to the company or appoint a fixed charge receiver.In the event of that they select the later would show they aren't supporting this company in the longer term.To appoint a fixed charge receiver to this site will also cause of sorts of problems for them internally if there is debt on other sites with Nama.

Presently it looks like NAMA has got a free lunch at the expense of the Belfast rates payer,which wont go down well on the Donegall Rd if they ever worked it out!

[PJ1977]

More Nama mopping up. Another guy nobody's ever heard of who was allowed to borrow £50m.

Soll Developments and Soll Lands last filed accounts for 2008 and at that time owed their creditors more than £16m.

Soll Holdings (ROI) owes its banks more than 40m euros (£34.2m) but the value of its land bank has collapsed to under 1m euros (£855,000).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22621006

[BelfastVI]

I hope the managers who approved these loans (and others) are paying back their bonuses to the taxpayer.

I doubt it. they are now calling in the loans.

[Shotoflight]

Mediation attempt fails to resolve multi-million pound battle between bank and brothers

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/mediation-attempt-fails-to-resolve-multimillion-pound-battle-between-bank-and-brothers-29293879.html

Mediation attempts have failed to resolve a multi-million pound legal battle between a bank and two brothers once described as Ireland's richest businessmen, it emerged today.

A High Court judge disclosed details of the unsuccessful process as he ruled that separate actions brought by Michael and John Taggart and the Ulster Bank should be tried together. In a newly published judgment, Mr Justice McCloskey held that joining the lawsuits would ensure fairness as well as saving time and money.

The bank has lodged writs for £5million and 4.3million euros it claims the house-building brothers owes in personal guarantees they gave in 2007.

Proceedings were brought over borrowings by Taggart Holdings Ltd in Northern Ireland and Taggart Homes Ireland Ltd in the Republic. The brothers, whose development empire collapsed in the property crash, disputes the bank's claims. They argue that they fully discharged their contractual obligations and have no liability.

In June last year the High Court overturned a summary judgment that the Taggarts must repay the full amount and ordered the case to go to a full trial.

Meanwhile, the brothers have brought a separate lawsuit against the bank, alleging misrepresentation and breach of contract.

The Taggarts sought to have all three actions combined - a position opposed by the bank.

[calvinhobbes]

You could say this developer is in trouble - eek!

"Harry Fitzsimons arrested in Senegal in west Africa"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22675585

[CCJ]

Quote from Robert Peston

"However there is another, more radical option also being assessed by the Treasury. Which would be to simultaneously take out of RBS the most troubled of its global operations, Ulster Bank, with its substantial lossmaking business in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Ulster has £37bn of assets (loans and investments) on a risk-adjusted basis.

One idea would be to transfer Ulster Bank into the arms and ownership of the Irish government, by swapping all or part of Ulster Bank for low quality British loans and investments currently owned by Ireland's National Asset Management Agency: NAMA inherited these stinky British assets when it acquired the problem loans of Ireland's reckless banks.

There is a certain logic to Ireland taking control of Ulster Bank while the Treasury runs off the loans made in Britain by over-excited Irish banks.

That said, the chancellor may conclude that the complexities of valuing all the relevant loans and the legal difficulties in transferring ownership may be too daunting".

[Bill Poster]

Never, never, never.

[BelfastVI]

Never, never, never.

Actually you hit the nail squarely on the head. They are terrified of that wing copping on that their brethren are suffering from 'Southern interference in Northern affairs'.

We might laugh but it worries some.

[Shotoflight]

Patton Group administrators raise £1.38m in property sales

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22801147

The administrators of the failed Patton construction group say they have raised £1.38m from property sales.

Nine properties have been sold including the firm's former workshops on the Raceview Road in Broughshane.

A further 26 properties have been agreed for sale, which should raise another £4.8m.

In addition £3.9m has been received for work the firm did before it went bust and £1.2m was raised from an auction of plant and machinery.

The County Antrim-based construction firm collapsed in November 2012 costing creditors more than £60m.

The proceeds of the property sales will go to the firm's secured creditors - mainly Danske Bank - while subcontractors and suppliers will not get any of their money back.

The Patton administrators, Keenan Corporate Finance, say they have also employed a subcontractor to finish work at various Patton housing sites.

[PJ1977]

Paul Durnien, QS and sometimes developer, in the bankruptcies today. His erstwhile business partner Colin Conn was bankrupted back in Christmas 2011.

[calvinhobbes]

If you were a developer who could see the business was about to go under, could you make local business/small contractors you owed money to - secured creditors? That way, they would get a share of the payout when the biz folded and not just the banks (who often had a lot of responsibility for this in the first place). It would give you better local will that you at least tried to get them their dosh. Is that mad or just not practical? Seems fairer.