NAMA takes enforcement action on €800m scheme in London

Actually the scheme in Aldgate, on the eastern fringe of the City of London only has a loan of €105m from Anglo so apologies for the yellow journalism. It is being reported by Britain’s Property Week that NAMA has sought the appointment of administrators to three companies in the Beetham Organization, a major UK property firm controlled by father-and-son Hugh Frost and Stephen Beetham whose developments include One Blackfriars Road (London), Trinity (Aldgate, London EC3),  301 Deansgate (Manchester),  West Tower (Brook Street, Liverpool), 10 Holloway Circus (Birmingham), Radisson SAS Hotel (Liverpool),  111 Old Hall Street (Liverpool), 101 Old Hall Street(Liverpool),  Campbell Square, (Duke Street, Liverpool), Cable House (Cheapside, Liverpool), Beetham Plaza (25 The Strand, Liverpool). The company’s status as a NAMA borrower has been known for some time.

Property Week report that administrators have been appointed to three group companies (1) Mapfield Properties (2) No 9 Aldgate and (3) Minores Estates Limited. The three companies reportedly owe Anglo GBP 129m (€153m) of which GBP 89m (€105m) is secured by Minores Estates Limited on the 1m sq ft Aldgate development known as Trinity which is estimated to have a developed value of GBP 700m (€826m) – today it is an derelict piece of ground on the site of the old Aldgate Bus Station. In addition to the key Trinity project, a separate company  No 9 Aldgate Limited owns the Matrix Building just around the corner at, er 9 Aldgate High Street and Mapfield Limited owns the 40-storey residential West Tower in Liverpool. The administrators are Martin Ellis and Les Ross of Grant Thornton.

It is now quite clear that NAMA is willing to take robust action against developers owing money to the agency, and there is a rapidly growing list of companies and individuals against which NAMA has taken enforcement action. A list of these actions is maintained in a regularly-updated spreadsheet under the Developers Tab.