Landmark regeneration scheme hits the buffers

A PROPERTY company behind a major regeneration scheme in Lancaster has been placed into administration with debts of more than £7m.

Lancaster Property Investments, which owned the land for use in the Lawsons Quay Scheme, has been placed into the hands of Begbies Traynor at the behest of its bankers.

The shareholders of LPI were Lancaster businessman John Sanderson and Sean Bolland. Two more businesses related to Mr Sanderson, Cable Street Flats and Cable Street Investments have been placed into administration.

Paul Stanley a partner Begbies Traynor is handling Cable Street Flats case as well as Lancaster Property Investments, while the Leeds office of PricewaterhouseCoopers in administrator of Cable Street Invesments.

It is understood that Bank of Scotland and Bank of Ireland are the main creditors of the three businesses involved, and are owed more than £10m.

The failure of Lancaster Property Investments places a question mark over the ambitious Lawsons Quay development, which comprised of 120-bedroom hotel, 97,000sq ft of office space and 18,000sq ft of retail.

A spokesman for Mr Sanderson – whose other business Lancaster Property Network is not affected by the administrations of the companies – said the problems began when planning permission for another major regeneration scheme, Centros, was rejected last year.

“An hotel group were on the verge of signing the deal for Lawsons Quay, which would have kick-started the scheme, but they pulled out when the Centros development was thrown out.”

The spokesman said Mr Sanderson was trying to secure “alternative sources of funding” to buy back the land at Lawsons Quay.