Mountgrange wants a Divorce!

Breakdown of Caltongate marriage

By Steven Vass Sunday Herald 24th May 2009

THE DEVELOPER behind the collapsed £300 million Caltongate project in Edinburgh has indicated for the first time that it will not attempt to revive the project.

Manish Chande, co-owner of Mountgrange Capital, which was forced into administration by its banker Lloyds in March, told the Sunday Herald he was "close to divorce" from the project, expressing impatience with the planning delays and heritage objections that have dogged the four-year project.

Chande's decision to draw a line under Mountgrange's involvement in Caltongate comes as administrator Deloitte said it had held talks with other potential developers and that a deal could be "months if not weeks" away. This runs contrary to reports that Lloyds was leaning on the administrator to mothball the site until the commercial property market picked up in value.

Chande said of the development, which was to include a five-star hotel, more than 200 homes, offices, cafes, bars and a public square: "We have had our separation, and we are getting close to our divorce.

"We may not be the best buyer. After four years of work, we saw the issues that arose and we are perhaps slightly affected by it."

Chande's comments contradict speculation at the time of the Mountgrange Capital administration announcement that he and business partner Martin Myers would push to buy back the development from Deloitte at the earliest opportunity.

Chande responded that it was unlikely he and Myers would agree with the administrator's valuation of the site. Mountgrange Capital paid £20m for Caltongate in 2004, but it is not thought to be worth anything like that now.

John Reid, Deloitte's administrator for Caltongate, said he had not heard from Chande or Myers but added: "We have been talking to a number of other potential developers and expect to conclude within months if not weeks. It is our intention to move forward as quickly as we can."

Clearly The Evening News are not keeping up with divorce proceedings, with their front page headlines "Caltongate set to be revived by failed firm's ex-bosses"

The Great Calton & Gate Swindle part 2

Publicity shot for the forthcoming movie The Great Calton & Gate Swindle part 2

From an article in today`s Property Week

"Manish Chande and Martin Myers have re-emerged from the administration of Mountgrange Capital with £850m to spend on ‘the next big thing’

Martin Myers and Manish Chande reached the nadir of their careers in March with the administration of their company, Mountgrange Capital."

Myers says: ‘In the summer of 2006, we thought we would launch a fund and wind down the old Mountgrange – Mountgrange Capital – to launch the fund.

‘We saw autumn 2006 as the peak of the market and, although we did not anticipate the fall that we have seen, we saw that the market had reached its peak.’

Chande adds: ‘In autumn 2006 we saw the rate of growth beginning to slow.’"

Meanwhile here in the republic we are asking did the council officials and councillors know that they had no intention of continuing with the company that they had entered into a questionable land deal with? A Land deal which is currently being investigated by the EU?

If they did how was it that this information was not made known to the public?

Now we know all about what has been revealed in Westminster, surely now it is time to cast the net wider and increase transparency and accountability over decision making at local level.

Would the CEC consider selling off 'council land' at the bottom of the market to the same people just because they have changed their name and got money from different people?

A company which couldn't even cough up £18,ooo for council homes they had the council empty on their last round of pie in the sky promises?

also from article in Property week -

"So it seems remarkable that just weeks later a phoenix is rising from the ashes in the form of an £850m opportunity fund.

Chande and Myers, who have worked together since 1983, founding, running and selling Imry before the 1990 crash, and setting up Trillium, which they sold for £330m to Land Securities in 2000, suffered a bitter blow earlier this spring.

Their lender, Bank of Scotland Corporate, refused to lend a string of Mountgrange companies – including those developing the £300m Caltongate scheme in Edinburgh and the 160 acre Phoenix Park in Linwood, Paisley – any more money and, as the values of schemes continued to fall, they were forced into administration.

Among the assets sold by administrator Deloitte are horses from a stud farm that was owned by one of the Mountgrange companies, to raise money for creditors.

But it has now decided to hold on to the projects and is attempting to complete them to sell at a more profitable time.