Deal agreed with administrators that will restart £100m development

A rescue deal that has kept the proposed £100m Aura development scheme has now been completed after receiving High Court approval.

It had been scheduled to be completed last month but the Aura scheme – alongside two other Elliot Group schemes, Infinity in Liverpool and The Residence in Salford – were put into administration in March.

This followed funding problems brought about by allegations of fraud and corruption against Elliot Group founder Elliot Lawless after his arrest in December 2019. He denies all allegations and investigations are continuing, although police were not given permission to extend Lawless’s bail and no charges have been laid. Lawless also won a High Court case in April, which ruled the December search of his property at the time of his arrest was unlawful.

Elliot Lawless

A consortium of the project’s original investors will now take the project forward with a development partner, and a spokesperson for Mr Lawless said construction will restart this week.

The joint administrators, Paul Cooper and David Rubin of David Rubin and Partners, agreed a deal that included a neighbouring piece of land held by Elliot Group.

Lawless said: “My proposal protected investors’ interests and ensured they would suffer no loss but we still needed the court’s approval. We’ve also agreed a deal that will see the investors’ chosen contractor use some of our other land to make construction easier.”

The Aura site is on the edge of Liverpool city centre, next to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital site and Grade II-listed Bridewell Studios.

The Aura development stalled shortly after this photo was taken in November 2019

The planned Aura development in Liverpool

It is to have a student accommodation building, consisting of studio and cluster bedrooms, and a residential building with a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

Anna Doeff, whose company Mewstone Ridges was Elliot Group’s single largest investor in Aura and who is a member of the investor consortium, said: “This has always been a very high-quality scheme in a prime location and I’m delighted that we can now complete it.”

Lawless is confident “of securing a successful outcome” to discussions with investors in The Residence in Salford within the next two weeks.

He added: “My aim is to protect investors’ monies as much as possible and, once that is achieved, return to winning ways. I have a number of significant sites and opportunities before me and it will be good to bring them forward.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool construction firm Vermont has confirmed that it is to restart work on Aura following the deal which will see the 1,007-unit scheme completed under Vermont’s management on behalf of the investors.

The initial phase is due to open in September 2021.

Mark Connor, Vermont chief executive, said: “It’s a huge statement that we have been able to put all of the issues behind us and can now press on with Aura – which is a great scheme in a strategically important location for the city.

“This has been a fantastic effort by all involved and enormous credit is due to the investor group and their advisors who, together with David Rubin and Partners, have been extremely pragmatic.

“In doing so, we have been able to agree a deal that will see the scheme completed as originally intended.

“This has been a complex process, but as far back as January 2020 we provided reassurance to the investors that we would work with them to ensure the scheme was completed. The agreement reached now confirms that we will be able to do exactly that.”