MCR picks up stalled Liverpool Pinnacle project
Developer MCR Property Group has acquired The Quadrant student accommodation development in Liverpool and declares its intention to complete the scheme in time for the academic year starting this September.
The 85,684 sq ft project on Shaw Street was left incomplete following the original contractor PHD1 Construction and developer Pinnacle Student Developers going into administration in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
The scheme collapsed in January 2018, with £12m owed to creditors, and was put up for sale by administrator KMPG in July, with GVA instructed. A statement of affairs by Pinnacle director Carl Mills revealed that the company owed buyers £11.6m, alongside £1.9m owed to another Pinnacle company, MVG Holdings.
MCR will now complete construction of the £17m seven-storey student living scheme to create 240 bedrooms, made up of a mixture of cluster flat accommodation and studio apartments. The property will also provide 26 car parking spaces and bike storage at basement level.
Close to Shaw Street’s junction with New Islington, the development is a short distance from Liverpool’s universities.
Nick Lake, asset manager at MCR Property Group, said: “Liverpool is vibrant and culturally diverse, attracting students the world over to live and learn in this truly global city. As such, student numbers continue to rise, by up to 6% year on year, resulting in a student accommodation boom to meet demand.
“The Quadrant provides a fantastic opportunity to provide high quality living spaces in the midst of prime university locations and will sure to be a popular choice for domestic and international students alike.”
The Quadrant sale represents the third stalled Liverpool development to be taken on by new owners in recent months, with former North Point Global Group developments in Pall Mall and Norfolk Street being purchased by Elliot Group and Crossfield Exclusive respectively.
Although no target price was divulged when the sale process was started, Mills’ statement of affairs estimated the value of the land at Shaw Street at £1.9m, while the “works undertaken” at the site were valued at £8.5m.
Sholom Cohen from GVA’s Manchester office, who was instructed to market the development for sale by the administrators, added: “We are delighted to have secured a buyer for The Quadrant. As anticipated, we experienced a high level of interest in this property which benefits from a well-positioned location and presented a fantastic opportunity for MCR Property Group.
“We are confident that now the scheme is in new hands, development will progress and be a valuable asset for Liverpool’s student community.”
What happens to the original purchasers of the scheme, are they left with nothing?
By Just saying
The previous developers, directors (and the shadow director) should be prosecuted without further delay.
It’s a national scandal that these people are still able to trade..
By Allan
And yet the same people behind this disgraceful scheme are still trading..
By Tony
Bad news for the buyers who had contracts exchanged and most of the deposits lost. Meanwhile the “developers” flit between the UK and the “Costa del Scumbag” on investors money. The investors end up with a a small pence in the pound payout and administrators get hundreds of thousands pounds in fees. Wrong wrong wrong!
By Julie