Herculaneum Quay lender enters administration

Peer-to-peer loans platform Lendy, which backed the development on Liverpool’s waterfront with a £12m funding package, has entered administration.

Following action by the Financial Conduct Authority, RSM has been called as administrators for Lendy along with two other linked companies: Lendy Provision Reserve, and Saving Stream Security Holding.

The troubles at the peer-to-peer lender follow its battle over Herculaneum Quay in Liverpool. Lendy, which had provided funding for the scheme, appointed administrator Quantuma to Herculaneumco, the special purpose development vehicle for the development, headed by Kerry Tomlinson of Primesite, in June last year.

Lendy, which was owed £12m by Herculaneumco, argued it had called in administrators to “protect the interests of investors”, although this was challenged by Tomlinson, who said the company was “shocked” administrators had been called in.

Earlier this month, Primesite, headed up by Tomlinson, announced it had struck a deal to take over the project from Herculaneumco; this will transfer the long leasehold of the building to a special purpose vehicle controlled by investors, allowing the project to be finished. Although the building is largely structurally complete, it is expected it will take 12 to 18 months to finalise building work. The 119-apartment scheme was originally due to hand over by the end of 2017.

In a post on Lendy’s website, its administrators said: “Due to the early stages of the administrations, the information we have is limited, we therefore request that creditors continue to consult the website in the first instance.

“Due to the volume of enquiries we expect to receive, we will only be able to respond to urgent queries.”

Lendy’s administration raises the prospect of its investors receiving nothing from the sale or continued development of Herculaneum Quay.

In a statement to Place North West, Tomlinson said: “The news about Lendy entering administration will have no impact on Herculaneum Quay, as Herculaneum Quay Investor Group has already completed the acquisition and fully owns the site. Work is continuing on site to deliver this project as originally planned.”

The most recent administrators’ report for Herculaneumco, dated from February this year, reveals there had been “other offers” received on the development but had been rejected by Lendy as being not of “sufficient value”. A sale of the building would likely have led to investors losing their deposits, where buyers paid between 50% and 80% of the sales value.

As well as owing Lendy £12m, Herculaneumco also owed unsecured creditors £12m.

Apartments at Herculaneum Quay are still being advertised for sale on website Certa Invest. Primesite was contacted for comment.