INVESTORS INTO POSH APARTMENTS STAND TO LOSE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS AS DEVELOPER GOES BUST

Investors into the failed conversion of an iconic building into 23 posh apartments stand to lose tens of thousands of pounds in a looming legal battle with a pension fund.

A dozen people each put down 50 per cent of the £120,000 asking price for the apartments as part of a scheme to develop Caxton Hall in Salford’s Flat Iron Conservation Area.

But the apartments were never completed and the developer – Wilma Developments Limited – has gone into compulsory liquidation.

The owner of the building is the Jerrold Manufacturing Company (Textiles) Ltd Pension Fund, based in Cheadle.

Following the demise of the developer Jerrold has applied to the Land Registry for the lifting of a legal order called a Unilateral Notice (UN1), held by the investors.

Such an order means nothing can be done to the building without their agreement.

If the order is lifted, the investors effectively lose any control they have over the property and with it their money.

It will be decided at a Land Registry tribunal on a date yet to be determined.

A spokesman at the Land Registry said:

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“We can confirm that we are in receipt of applications to cancel the Unilateral Notices on the property.

“We have received a number of objections from solicitors acting on behalf of some of the beneficiaries [the investors].”

 

He said that there would be a Property Chamber first-tier tribunal ‘to determine the matter’.

A Portugal-based investor – who does not wish to be named – says he paid out more than half the asking price, £70,000, in 2018 to reserve an apartment.

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“I visited the property in April this year and saw that only superficial preparation work had been carried out. I could tell something was wrong.”

He said that the law company who negotiated the deal has told him that legal fees to represent him at the forthcoming tribunal could amount to £20,000.

The 61-year-old former school principal continued:

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“It’s money I just don’t have. 

“So I am looking into the possibility of representing myself.

“This investment was intended to give me a pension, so this is potentially disastrous for me.”

 

He said he had tried to contact other investors but most appear to be based in the Far East, including Hong Kong, and there has been no response.

Although he has never lived in Salford, he is a regular visitor to the city to stay with a friend.

He said:

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“It’s a fantastic place – walking distance from Manchester – and we love having a pint at the Eagle Inn.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has seen the list of objectors to the Jerrold UN1 application on a Land Registry document. Twelve are individuals and one is a property company called KMM Properties (NW) Ltd, based in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Jerrold has declined to comment.

The building dates back to 1904 and was the headquarters of the Manchester Typographical Society – so named after the inventor of the printing press William Caxton.

In 2017 a planning application to convert the offices into 23 apartments was approved.