The ECHO has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds have been lost in relation to a number of collapsed projects in Liverpool city centre.
In May 2018 the ECHO revealed that around £90m could be owed to investors who had put down deposits on new apartment projects in Liverpool.
However one property expert, who asked not to be named, has confirmed that the figure is now probably closer to £200m. Investors are feared to have lost significant sums, including life savings, on schemes such as New Chinatown, Baltic House, North Point Pall Mall, the Paramount and Victoria House.
He said: "A lot of investors have lost their deposits and in some cases their life savings."
Over the last year the ECHO has documented the losses and liabilities associated with many of the high profile property schemes which have collapsed over recent years.
Yesterday . Last month we revealed Pinnacle Student Developments Ltd, the company behind the Paramount scheme, . And figures on the Companies House website show that North Point Pall Mall, the company behind the failed Pall Mall, scheme, has liabilities of over £19m.
But some observers fear that the official figures on Companies House do not reveal the full scale of the losses. As well investors from far east who have lost deposits, the failed schemes traders who worked on the sites are owed large sums.
In January this year the Serious Fraud Office announced that it had launched an investigation into "suspected fraud" at the New Chinatown development and the North Point Pall Mall development in Liverpool. Both sites are now under new ownership.
The new owners are not being investigated by the SFO. The SFO investigation also included the controversial Angelgate scheme in Manchester.
The back story
In 2010 Liverpool businessman Peter McInness revealed plans to turn a former Liverpool nightclub into apartments.
The Coconut Grove was in Tuebrook, several miles outside the city centre.
The former club was at the centre of a national news story in the 90s after a shooting. It later emerged that drugs lord Curtis Warren used a corrupt senior police officer to try and influence the investigation. DCI Elly Davies, who was a rising star within the force, was later jailed for five years after being found guilty of corruption.
Liverpool Council approved the plans to develop the run down club. But Mr McInness's company SABP Ltd later collapsed and the scheme was not realised. Over the years the former club became something of an eyesore, and local Liberal councillor Steve Radford complained about the site.
But in 2015 Mr McInnes announced he was now a spokesman and promoter for a clutch of massive city centre development schemes. He spoke on behalf of development firms PHD1 and North Point Global.
New Chinatown
Manchester regeneration firm Urban Splash acquired the site known as Tribeca Fields opposite the Anglican Cathedral.
But by 2016 Liverpool council had become frustrated with the failure to develop the site and wanted to transfer it to new owners. An email leaked to the ECHO now reveals who the council wanted to pass the site onto either PHD1 or another company called X!.
In the email Cllr Ann O'Byrne, who was cabinet member for regeneration at the time, discussed how Urban Splash had agreed to "withdraw" from the site, and how there was a "great opportunity to work with another developer". The council decided to back PHD1 Construction to complete the scheme in May 2015. The ECHO understands Cllr O'Byrne supported the PHD1 bid.
The email reads: "Hi Joe and Ged just a quick update on our meeting with US as promised. I have agreed with them that they will withdraw from the Tribeca site and that we will provide an alternative site that is available now for them to test out their 'HoUSe' model of flat pack apartments.
"As you know their development agreement runs out on Friday and now have a great opportunity to work with another developer that we have met who has the funding and the ideas to develop this out right away.
"Malcolm, Steve and I, as you know have reached the end or our patience with US and it's all agreed it's time they moved on. Nick and I were rather firm with US but we felt we had to make clear that this had gone on far too long with too many false horizons and promises of a start on site coming soon, only for this never to materialise.
"We emphasised that providing an alternative site to US was a win win all round. Although US were disappointed they said they understood and wanted to work with us on the alternative offer."
In May 2015, the council considered tenders from PHD1 Construction and X1 to develop the Tribeca site off Great George Street.
The council decided to choose PHD1 to develop the site. The council has said that the decision to select PHD1 was "taken by all". The council said that PHD1 was chosen because of its ability to "do a commercial deal in relation to the leasehold interest".
PHD1 Construction was formed in January 2014 with a share capital of £100.00 with Julie Caroline McInnes as director. All the shares were originally held by Julie McInnes but on 14 May 2015 they were transferred to David Thomas Green who was director of a number of Bilt group companies.
In December 2018 he was disqualified from being a company director for seven years for his conduct relating to Bilt.
PHD1 went into administration on 1 April 2016. The company has multi-million pound liabilities. Urban Splash and X1 are still trading.
The tax exile
Earlier this year a liquidators' report revealed that a UK national who was now a tax exile had founded a 'family tree' of companies all linked to the stalled sites.
The family of related companies includes; LJS Family Investments, LJS Corporate Projects Ltd, North Point Global Ltd, Blok Architecture Ltd, LJS Accounting services (UK) Ltd, Vienna House Developments, Baltic House Developments, North Point (Pall Mall) Ltd, China Town Development Company Ltd, Warwick Road Developments (Manchester) Ltd, Warwick Road Developments (Manchester) Ltd and Berry House Developments Ltd. The document makes reference to the man who founded the companies.
It reads: "The director further advised that the original founder of the companies was a UK national who now resides overseas. It is understood that this individual is no longer a UK resident for tax purposes. During the interview the director advised that this founder was at no point registered as a director of the company."
The report revealed the there were a number of complex loan arrangements between the companies in the family tree.
The election banner
Last year the ECHO heard claims that an election banner had appeared outside the Coconut Grove building in Tuebrook. The banner was said to have displayed both the Liverpool City Council crest and the North Point Global logo. Photographs then emerged which showed the banner outside the former nightclub in 2016.
However at the time the council said that North Point Global had been behind the banner, and that the council had instructed them to take it down.
But then emails were leaked to the ECHO which showed that the Mayor's Office had been heavily involved in the production of the banner, which was viewed as a potential photo opportunity.
Ann O'Byrne, then deputy mayor, was involved in some of the correspondence with NPG. One of the emails read: "Ann O'Byrne has just been on again wanting to know when demo at Coconut Grove starts. She's saying next week will be a big help to Joe Anderson! "Please come back to me ASAP as I need to respond....."
The council said it acted in good faith in relation to the banner but later referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO took no further action.
What the council has said
Cllr Ann O'Byrne had declined to discuss the above matters when approached by the ECHO.
The council has said that it carried out background checks on all the companies it has done business with. The council said that all transactions with the Chinatown Development Company Limited were through a registered firm of solicitors. The council is no longer working with Mr McInnes.
