Developer making ‘good progress’ on Island Quarter site despite changed outlook

Conygar, the company behind the redevelopment of the Island Quarter site in Nottingham city centre, says it is making “good progress” on the huge mixed-use scheme, but has warned the Covid-19 outbreak has “fundamentally changed” its outlook.

The firm has slashed losses from £13.7m in 2019 to just £1.5m to the end of March this year, but that the value of its assets decreased by £5.4m to £95.3m over the last 12 months.

The firm has already spent £16.8m on its Nottingham scheme, according to new figures. A statement by Conygar said: “At The Island Quarter, Nottingham, we have made good progress with the design of the early phases of the development and hope to be able to make announcements later this year.”

Robert Ware, Chief Executive of The Conygar Investment Company, said: “We believed the outlook for the economy was positive following the general election at the end of 2019 and were looking forward to progressing our projects. The COVID-19 shutdown has fundamentally changed the outlook, and it is neither possible nor sensible to attempt to predict the future. No one can be certain of the impact of the virus on the carrying values of our development and trading properties at this time. However, as a business with low overheads, no debt and a strong cash position, Conygar is well placed to weather the downturn which has already begun.

“We will monitor opportunities in the marketplace carefully as they will undoubtedly appear in the coming months. At the same time, we are well placed to advance our projects and hope to make announcements later this year to that effect.”