Receivers appointed on pair of stalled Investar schemes
Shawbrook Bank has appointed Savills to sell sites in Stockport and Trafford after the developer fell behind on loan repayments.
The Investar vehicles behind the Royal George Village scheme in Stockport and the Botanical Gardens project on Talbot Road in Old Trafford took out loans from Shawbrook in 2021.
Since then, the projects have struggled to progress, prompting the lender to appoint Savills to sell the sites in a bid to recover the money it is owed.
In Stockport, work on the 442-apartment scheme has not progressed in the two years since planning permission was granted. This prompted the developer to review its options for the site.
Speaking to Place North West in November, Michael Dong, chief executive of Investar, said the lack of progress was down to “build cost inflation and interest rate rises”.
The developer had been exploring options to get kickstart Royal George Village, including selling the site and looking to form a joint venture with another developer.
“Instead of waiting for the right turn in the market next year, we want to proactively look for alternative options to speed things up,” Dong said in November.
Investar has struggled to make progress in Stockport. Credit: via planning documents
However, Shawbrook has now taken the next step out of Investar’s hands.
Investar acquired the Royal George Village plot from Stockport College in April 2020 and Shawbrook’s loan followed a year later.
The scheme would see four of the six existing buildings on the site demolished.
The 115,000 sq ft Torkington Building would be converted into 122 apartments, while the grade-two listed Greek Street Building – the former Metropolitan Girls’ School – would be converted into collaborative co-working space for local businesses.
The 60,000 sq ft Lyme Centre would be demolished and replaced with a 16-storey apartment block comprising 258 units.
In addition, a new-build six-storey ‘gateway’ building would be constructed, providing 62 apartments at the corner of Greek Street and Royal George Street.
Meanwhile, the Hexagon lecture hall, located close to the grade two-listed War Memorial Art Gallery, would be demolished and replaced with public realm and civic space.
In addition, the 16,000 sq ft University Centre building would be demolished to provide an internal, south-facing courtyard to create additional public open space and private gardens for residents.
Investar has faced similar difficulties in Trafford with its Botanical Gardens scheme.
Work on the 149-home project on Talbot Road in Old Trafford has stopped after a funding deal fell through.
Linear Design & Construct was appointed to build the development earlier this year but has downed tools, it is understood.
Savills, Investar, and Shawbrook were contacted for comment.
Abandoned sites all over Manchester, where demand fails to keep up with supply
By Floyd
Floyd clearly you don’t understand the Property Market, not a supply/demand issue.
By Anonymous
Floyd – scarcity of supply is driving up rents and sales prices, however not enough to keep up with construction costs. As the population continues to increase we are going to hit serious problems if construction costs don’t cool soon.
By SC
There isn’t enough demand to keep up with construction costs. not like in London
By Phi
@Floyd
@Phi
Or maybe the developer just failed to keep up with their repayments.
Mind you, the Stockport scheme looks rather mediocre.
Someone like Novo would do magic here – quality mid density, avoiding towers and sprawl in developments which people like and that sell.
By SW
It was only a matter of time… we will be seeing lots of this across the board and funders taking a hit. The reality is that developers have been paying too much for land in the last 3 years or so and it simply doesn’t stack. Conservative estimate is that land values have halved. Same in sheds.
By John W
Quite like Tim Grooms design. Really hope that it somehow gets built. If it doesn’t happen there, then somewhere around the city centre would be nice.
Compared to some of the contemporary cladding, this design also does a better job of standing the test of time.
By MrP
@MrP. Tim Groom’s practice I reckon is the best in Manchester and a great regional player in architecture too.
By SW