Modus Ventures collapses into administration

Retail developer Modus Ventures, owner of 40 property development companies across the UK, has appointed KPMG's Richard Fleming, Brian Green and Paul Dumbell as joint administrators.

No other businesses that are linked to the group are currently affected by the administration of Modus Ventures Limited. Modus's main lender is Bank of Scotland Corporate.

Modus Properties (Wigan) Limited and Modus (Wigan) Limited, which own the long leasehold of the Grand Arcade Shopping Centre in Wigan, fell in to administration on 18th May. Modus's Trinity Walk Wakefield Limited went in to administration in March.

Richard Fleming, UK head of restructuring at KPMG, said: "The group, like many companies within the property sector, has not been immune to the economic downturn and, indeed, we believe will be one of the first in a long line of commercial real estate casualties."

"It is a large and complex group, with many lending institutions providing funds for both completed and part-completed developments. The company has been in discussions with a number of parties in respect of providing funding for ongoing developments and we will work with company management to pursue this interest. We continue to gather information on the group and will provide an update as to our strategy in due course."