Trio of failed Dundee firms are beyond rescuing

PROPERTY: Administrator to sell sites of development firms in order to make payout to secured creditor

Three companies that a major Dundee waterfront developer put into administration have liabilities totalling almost £15.5 million.

Tim Allan, director of the Unicorn Property Group, took the action because of problems with debt funding.

He placed the Unicorn subsidiaries – Lindores, Lindores (Lower Dens) and Lindores (Hawkhill) – into administration two months ago.

They had been funded by Allied Irish Bank (AIB), which was taken under Irish state control after the financial crash, with the debt portfolio later sold.

Mr Allan, who is also president of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, tried to purchase the debt but could not agree a price, and put the Lindores firms into administration.

In progress reports lodged with Companies House, joint administrators Paul Douris and William Duncan of RSM Restructuring calculated the liabilities of Lindores at £10.75m, Lindores (Lower Dens) at £2.97m and Lindores (Hawkhill) at £1.7m.

Lindores owns River Court office block in City Quay plus waste ground at River Heights.

It also owned the neighbouring City Court which it sold to the police.

River Court was only partially let and because of the number of voids the firm was unable to service its bank debt.

Lindores (Lower Dens) owns the former jute mill of that name along with the Stable Warehouse and the Marquee and Customs House public house.

The Lower Dens company tried to develop the former jute mill into residences but abandoned the venture.

Planning permission has since been granted to turn it into a hotel but the conversion has not so far begun.

The Hawkhill company’s nine commercial units in Hawkhill Industrial Estate are vacant and producing no rental income.

In all three cases the bank’s debt was acquired by Clipper Holding, the secured creditor, but management were unable to agree debt refinance or repayment terms.

The joint administrators have concluded that the three companies cannot be rescued as going concerns, and winding them up would not produce a better result.

They are therefore attempting to sell the various Lindores properties to make a distribution to the secured creditor.

Figures in the reports indicate the total book value of the properties to be near £11.5m but their realisable values are estimated at £5m.

Mr Allan said yesterday he remained committed as a property developer to the Dundee waterfront.

Tim Allan, whose companies ran into trouble over debt funding.