Administrators appointed on Royal Albert Dock assets
The future of Chinese developer ABP’s regeneration scheme at Royal Albert Dock in east London was thrown into fresh doubt today (4 February), after one of its lenders called in administrators over a debt facility provided last year.
Hang Seng Bank has appointed administrators at Deloitte to recover its £60m debt facility given to ABP in January 2021, amid concerns over the developer’s ability to service the debt.
Deloitte has in turn appointed Savills to sell six office buildings containing 133,000 sq ft of space, which are part of the incomplete first phase of the scheme. In total, the Royal Albert Dock regeneration covers 4.7m sq ft and is worth £3.2bn.
The future of Chinese developer ABP’s regeneration scheme at Royal Albert Dock in east London was thrown into fresh doubt today (4 February), after one of its lenders called in administrators over a debt facility provided last year.
Hang Seng Bank has appointed administrators at Deloitte to recover its £60m debt facility given to ABP in January 2021, amid concerns over the developer’s ability to service the debt.
Deloitte has in turn appointed Savills to sell six office buildings containing 133,000 sq ft of space, which are part of the incomplete first phase of the scheme. In total, the Royal Albert Dock regeneration covers 4.7m sq ft and is worth £3.2bn.
ABP got the contract to develop the project in 2014 from the Greater London Authority, amid accusations of favourable treatment during the tender process by then mayor of London Boris Johnson’s officials following a Channel 4 investigation.
But eight years on the developer has still not started work on the second of the scheme’s six phases. The GLA served a final termination notice to ABP in August, saying it must restart stalled construction work or else be kicked off the job.
Accounts filed last month show that ABP was facing uncertainty about its ability to continue operating. The company lost £13m last year and has net financial liabilities of £14m. It also wrote off £11m, saying the pandemic had “adversely affected the market for sale and rental developments”.
The accounts said that ABP needed support from its parent company, British Virgin Islands-registered Dauphin Holdings Group, to continue operating. Dauphin is owned by ABP founder Xu Weiping and his daughter, Nancy Xu, who is ABP’s chief executive.
However, Dauphin in turn was looking to raise funds and defer credit payments, the accounts said. They continued that there was “significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
EG has contacted Deloitte and Savills for comment. ABP could not be reached for comment.
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Photo © ABP
