The future of key South West residential projects worth many millions of pounds is still uncertain despite the housing division of collapsed Midas Group Ltd being rescued from administration, it has emerged.
Projects including the TorVista Homes scheme in Torbay, Cornish developments for Treveth, the £50m Oakfield scheme in Swindon, and the 140-home unfinished Quintrell Downs project, also in Cornwall, are not part of the eleventh-hour rescue of Mi-space (UK) Ltd by Scottish-headquartered Bell Group.
The national property services company swooped to purchase Mi-space (UK) Ltd, saving 46 jobs, as its parent group appointed administrators.
But it has since become evident that Bell has only purchased the property services section of Mi-space - not the part that actually builds houses.
That has been shifted into another Midas company, Midas Construction Ltd, which is also in the hands of administrators from global business advisor Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd
It means that unfinished housing projects will now become part of the administration of the Midas Group, leaving questions about who will complete the work and when.
A Midas insider explained: “Bell has purchased Mi-space (UK) Ltd but that was the property services side of the group. Mi-space property services specialised in refurb and housing upgrades. Not to be confused with Mi-space residential, which built new homes.”
Mi-space’s construction portfolio includes the 140-home development at Quintrell Downs, near Newquay, for Coastline Housing.
All the houses are still under construction and now face delays with a spokesperson for Coastline saying: “Coastline is very disappointed that Midas, including elements of their subsidiary Mi-space, have been placed into administration.
“We have been working with the group to deliver 140 new homes on a site Coastline owns at Quintrell Downs near Newquay.
“We remain committed to delivery of those homes and will be working along with our professional advisors, colleagues, supply chain and the administrators to ensure this will happen. Inevitably there will be delays and we will provide updates as we understand the ongoing situation more clearly.”
Other Mi-space projects include Nationwide Building Society’s £50m Oakfield project, in Swindon. Work began in 2021 on the 239 homes and was scheduled for completion by Spring 2022.
Mi-space’s construction arm started work in December 2021, by demolishing two derelict buildings, to develop nine affordable rent homes including one adapted home at Totnes Road, Paignton, for TorVista Homes and Torbay Council. The project is due for completion in November 2022.
In Cornwall, Mi-space has been carrying out building work on 46 homes in Liskeard, and held a topping out ceremony in October 2021.
The Maudlin Farm scheme, on land south of Lake Lane, is being developed by Treveth, the partnership company set up by Cornwall Council to deliver new homes and commercial development. It will feature 35 homes for private rent and 11 affordable homes, available from spring 2022.
Mi-space was also involved in a Treveth project to deliver 100 homes at the former St Lawrence’s Hospital site in Bodmin. The scheme, called Park Lanneves, was expected to see the first homes available in the summer of 2022.
Midas Group and its subsidiaries Midas Construction Ltd, Midas Retail Ltd, Mi-Space (UK) Ltd, Mi-Space Property Services Ltd, Midas Commercial Developments Ltd and Falmouth Developments Ltd are all now in administration.
Mi-space (UK) Ltd specialised in planned and reactive maintenance for the South West housing sector and has been involved in major projects including the £1m cladding removal and fire safety programme at Plymouth’s Mount Wise Towers, the £1m refurbishment of Torridge Way flats for Plymouth Community Homes, and another £1m project for the same client to refresh flats in High Street and Exeter Street.
Mi-space’s most recent accounts, for the 18 months to the end of October 2020, revealed it had seen turnover drop by 48% to £33.5m leading to a pre-tax loss of £1.3m. However, it only made a £15,000 pre-tax profit in 2019, and that was on turnover of nearly £64m.
With £11m owed to creditors, in 2020, it had net assets of just £1.2m. Midas was recently ranked as the ninth largest private sector firm in the South West, by the Western Morning News Annual Business Guide 2021, with a reported turnover of £291,267,008 and 498 employees.
But rumours had been circulating in recent weeks that the company was in financial trouble, after it announced a £2m loss in 2021 - its first deficit in 40 years of trading.
The acquisition of Mi-space’s property services arm grows Bell’s already strong presence in the South West and Wales. Airdrie-headquartered Bell is a market leader in the sector and already has offices across the South West in Plymouth, Taunton, Bristol, and South Wales, with plans to open up an office in Exeter in 2022.
The family-owned firm has more than 2,200 employees nationally, with 312 of those in the South West, where it also supports a further 220 supply chain jobs. The deal to purchase the Mi-space business and certain of its assets out of administration secures economic activity valued at up to £20m annually to the local economy, significant supply chain links and indirect employment.
