Grand Central’s developer in administration

THE property developer which owned the Grand Central leisure and retail scheme in Stockport has been placed into administration.

Administrators were appointed Targetfollow Property Holdings, which was part of Targetfollow Property Group, yesterday. The company, which was owned by entrepreneur Ardeshir Naghshineh, owed around £680m in loans to its bank, Lloyds Banking Group.

The company, which also owned offices at Winwick Quay in Warrington and Metropolitan House in Manchester, had initially secured planning consent to redevelop the Grand Central site in February 2008.

It was proposing a £100m scheme that included restaurants, cafes, shops, offices and up to 200 new homes. It had also signed Travelodge as an anchor tenant to the scheme, but work never started on site.

Councillor Dave Goddard, Leader of Stockport Council, said: “Grand Central has an important role to play in the future of Stockport town centre and we are very keen to progress redevelopment.

“We are working closely with all parties to ensure the best possible outcome for the site, and are currently taking stock of all options open to us to maximise its potential.”