James Stephen and Kerry Bailey of BDO were appointed joint administrators last year and have since extended the administration period to this September while they work toward selling the company’s land.

When administrators arrived at the site, they found it deserted and had to break in themselves. Their report notes that staff and a security agent had to force their way onto the site to carry out an initial assessment and put new security measures in place, since no one was there to let them in.

Offers had already been accepted on several of the plots before the company collapsed, but administrators say substantially more funding would be needed to complete construction and finish the development. A sale of the land is now moving forward and is expected to close within the next few weeks, though administrators note that a required court application for authority to sell has pushed back completion and added extra legal, time, and holding costs.

The company’s finances reveal a complex creditor structure. Hood Property Cardrona had an intercreditor agreement with Crowd Property, Duart Investment and Castle Fox, with Crowd Property’s security ranking ahead of the other two lenders.

At the time administrators were appointed, the company owed Crowd Property £4.5m; based on the current offer on the table, Crowd is expected to recover just £1.1m, leaving a significant shortfall. Duart Investments and Castle Fox aren’t expected to recover anything on their lending.

HMRC has lodged a claim for £4,684, and earlier estimates suggested around £300,000 in further claims from other creditors, but administrators say unsecured creditors are not expected to receive any payout.