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Lloyds places 2 more failed developers into administration as pace of restructuring picks up
Two more property firms, backed by Lloyds Banking Group loans, have entered administration or receivership, in a further sign the bank is taking a firmer stance with its struggling commercial real estate clients.
Thornfield Ventures, which is building a shopping mall in northwest England, and three subsidiaries of developer Kilmartin Group were placed under administration or in receivership yesterday, their administrators said in separate statements.
Lloyds-owned HBOS is believed to have pumped £500 million of loans into Kilmartin during the property boom, while the Thornfield project is backed by a £280 million HBOS loan, The Times newspaper reported earlier today, without citing sources.
A Lloyds spokesman declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. Part-nationalised Lloyds took over HBOS last January, after HBOS' corporate division took big bets on property and private-equity style investments that soured.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said in a statement that Kilmartin Holdings and Kilmartin Property Group Limited are in receivership, while related firm Annfield Assets Limited is in administration.
Bruce Cartwright and Graham Frost, both of PWC, are the joint receivers or joint administrators to the Kilmartin Group firms, but those companies have a number of subsidiary and fellow group companies that remain solvent, PWC said.
"After discussions with the existing lenders, the decision has been taken to place these holding companies into receivership or administration ... Our immediate priority will be to review the existing position," Frost said.
Edinburgh-based Kilmartin Group, founded in 1996 by Executive Chairman Iain Wotherspoon, has a portfolio of more than 60 projects with an end value of £300 million, the firm said on its website.
Deloitte's Phil Bowers and Angus Martin are joint administrators to Thornfield Ventures, which is part of the Thornfield Capital Limited group of companies.
For Thornfield Ventures, property company Hammerson has been brought in to complete construction of its principal asset, The Rock, a £350 million shopping centre in Bury, Lancashire, Deloitte said.
"It has been agreed by all parties that Hammerson ... has been appointed to deliver the completion and opening of Bury and will also be supporting the joint administrators in evaluating the other schemes in the portfolio," Bowers said.
Late last year, companies under another Lloyds-backed property group, Kenmore, were also placed in administration, and the bank took a stake in a new property firm formed from the debt restructuring of Ashwell.
Sector experts had feared that unless banks took steps to deleverage exposure to commercial property, their ability to resume anything close to pre-crisis lending to the wider economy and bargain-hunting property investors would be limited.
Thornfield Ventures, which is building a shopping mall in northwest England, and three subsidiaries of developer Kilmartin Group were placed under administration or in receivership yesterday, their administrators said in separate statements.
Lloyds-owned HBOS is believed to have pumped £500 million of loans into Kilmartin during the property boom, while the Thornfield project is backed by a £280 million HBOS loan, The Times newspaper reported earlier today, without citing sources.
A Lloyds spokesman declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. Part-nationalised Lloyds took over HBOS last January, after HBOS' corporate division took big bets on property and private-equity style investments that soured.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said in a statement that Kilmartin Holdings and Kilmartin Property Group Limited are in receivership, while related firm Annfield Assets Limited is in administration.
Bruce Cartwright and Graham Frost, both of PWC, are the joint receivers or joint administrators to the Kilmartin Group firms, but those companies have a number of subsidiary and fellow group companies that remain solvent, PWC said.
"After discussions with the existing lenders, the decision has been taken to place these holding companies into receivership or administration ... Our immediate priority will be to review the existing position," Frost said.
Edinburgh-based Kilmartin Group, founded in 1996 by Executive Chairman Iain Wotherspoon, has a portfolio of more than 60 projects with an end value of £300 million, the firm said on its website.
Deloitte's Phil Bowers and Angus Martin are joint administrators to Thornfield Ventures, which is part of the Thornfield Capital Limited group of companies.
For Thornfield Ventures, property company Hammerson has been brought in to complete construction of its principal asset, The Rock, a £350 million shopping centre in Bury, Lancashire, Deloitte said.
"It has been agreed by all parties that Hammerson ... has been appointed to deliver the completion and opening of Bury and will also be supporting the joint administrators in evaluating the other schemes in the portfolio," Bowers said.
Late last year, companies under another Lloyds-backed property group, Kenmore, were also placed in administration, and the bank took a stake in a new property firm formed from the debt restructuring of Ashwell.
Sector experts had feared that unless banks took steps to deleverage exposure to commercial property, their ability to resume anything close to pre-crisis lending to the wider economy and bargain-hunting property investors would be limited.
Fri, 8th Jan 2010