Cube developer in administration

BIRMINGHAM Development Company, the firm behind the Cube in the city, has been put into administration.

Just months before construction on the iconic Cube building was due to be completed, it is understood that efforts to secure further funding from Lloyds failed, leading BDC chief Alan Chatham to ask the bank to call in the administrators.

Mr Chatham also developed the Mailbox, transforming a run-down part of the city into a canalside centre of high-quality shops and restaurants. The Cube occupies an adjacent site and was due to incorporate a hotel, rooftop restaurant and luxury flats.

PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed joint administrators of BDC and its construction arm earlier today.

In a statement, the directors of BDC said: “We are bitterly disappointed that we have been unable to reach agreement with Lloyds Bank to enable the development of The Cube to be funded to completion, particularly when the project is so close to completion.

“As a consequence, having taken legal advice, the directors considered they had no alternative other than to request that Lloyds Bank appoint administrators – which has now been done.

“It is a sad day for The Cube, an ambitious project for Birmingham, into which we have put five years of our lives, but like many development projects across the UK, it has succumbed to the pressures of the global economic downturn, which followed the credit crunch.  

“Over the last five years, we have been absolutely committed to protect and deliver The Cube in a professional and honourable manner and we would like to thank our colleagues at BDC and BAL and all others working on the scheme for their hard work, support and loyalty.”

PwC said they been holding initial discussions with the principal stakeholders in the project with a view to completing the development, and do not intend to market the development in its current state.

The Cube is a 23-storey tower development, designed by Birmingham-born Ken Shuttleworth, of MAKE Architects, who designed London’s Gherkin building with Norman Foster.

The mixed-use development was set to comprise 135 flats, 111,500 sq ft of offices, shops, a hotel and a restaurant. It was to mark the final phase of The Mailbox development.

The Cube was set to be Mr Chatham’s second landmark development in Birmingham following the completion of the iconic Mailbox.

BDC also owns the former Birmingham Post and Mail building in Colmore Circus, which it acquired last year. A question mark now remains over the fate of that building.

The building has been empty since the media group relocated to new premises within Fort Dunlop in November 2008.

Mr Chatham once said that his company did not do ordinary developments and that each scheme was set to be a statement of Birmingham’s ambitions.

 

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