Dylan Harvey Group losses widen to £9.3m
DYLAN Harvey Group, whose subsidiary residential company went into administration last August owing more than 200 creditors £6.5m, has seen its annual loss run into millions of pounds.
Latest accounts for the Padiham-based group, named after managing director Toby Whittaker’s two sons, show it made a pre-tax loss of £9.3m for the year to the end of February.
This compares to the £284,829 loss made a year earlier. Turnover stood at £12m, down from £57.2m a year earlier.
The losses do not include write-off costs incurred by marketing apartment developments for Dylan Harvey Residential, now in administration, which will appear in the 2010 accounts.
During the year the group completed developments at Park Lane, Sector One, Skyline Chambers, Wilderspool, and Blackburn Business Centre.
Since the year end the group has completed Burnley Business Centre in July 2009, and Liverpool business centre in early 2010. Both developments 100% pre-sold.
Several more business centres are planned with construction due to complete in 2010 and 2011, the company said.
The directors’ report said: “In the context of a rapidly declining property market the directors are satisfied with performance for the year.”
It added: “Our property portfolio has produced marked improvement since the year under review through a combination of reduced financing costs and significant increases in occupancy levels.”
The group said it had made “excellent” progress in cost reductions introduced during the year but added it had put additional investment into sales training and site marketing to maximise revenues.
The group increased its net debt during the year from £6m to £18.8m, and raised a new bank loan of around £10m.
Dylan Harvey Residential (DHR) and Paradise Project (Liverpool) Ltd – formerly Dylan Harvey investments Ltd – were both discontinued after the end of the financial period.
DHR acted as sales agent for a number of residential apartment schemes across Manchester and the wider North West.
New accounts for DHR for the same period show its turnover fell 85% to £4.65m (2008: £31.6m), with a pre-tax loss of £6.6ml, compared to the £1.43m profit it made in 2008.
Earlier this month Mark Getliffe, administrator for Dylan Harvey Residential at Manchester-based CLB Coopers, questioned several transactions within the complex structure of the Dylan Harvey Group (DHG).
Among the matters Mr Getliffe is hoping to resolve is a £285,000 payment from DH Residential Ltd to DHG in respect of a banking arrangement. More information has also been sought from DHG regarding inter-company loans between the residential business and the group, and also a £1.6m dividend paid to the group in 2008.
