Two more Signature Living companies behind prominent schemes in Liverpool and Manchester have fallen into administration.
It was announced on Tuesday that administrators were called in at the firms behind 60 Old Hall Street and Victoria Mill in Manchester.
They are among five Signature Living firms to have gone into administration this month - however administrators of the two latest firms say they hope to finish the projects “as swiftly as possible”.
Steve Williams and Philip Armstrong, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP, were appointed to Lawrence Kenwright's firms called Signature Living Residential Limited and Signature Victoria Mill Ltd on April 16.
These are the fourth and fifth Signature Living firms to go into administration this month, according to the London Gazette's official public records.
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According to FRP, both Signature Living Residential Limited and Signature Victoria Mill Limited are special-purpose vehicles (SPV) assigned to individual property development projects.
Their purpose is the conversion of property to primarily residential use - and both are part of the wider Signature Living Group.
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Mr Williams said: “60 Old Hall Street and Victoria Mill are two highly sought after, centrally-located developments in Liverpool and Manchester.
"Our primary focus is to work closely with those involved in order to secure the funding that is needed to bring these projects to completion as swiftly as possible.”
Signature Living Residential Limited is the SPV behind the conversion of an office building at 60 Old Hall Street in Liverpool.
The development, once complete, will provide 123 apartments across nine floors. This includes a three-storey extension, together with commercial use on the ground and lower ground floors.
Signature Victoria Mill Limited is overseeing the part-conversion of Victoria Mill in Miles Platting, Manchester.
The grade two-listed former textile mill is a six-storey building, part of which has previously been converted into apartments.
The part owned by Signature Victoria Mill Limited is in the process of being converted into 85 apartments across floors one to five. The ground floor is currently occupied by various divisions of the NHS.
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Following their appointment, the administrators say they are now working closely with the management team at the Signature Living Group and a team of specialist advisors to assess the status of both build projects.
FRP said they will now work out the cost to complete the developments, with a view to securing funding from the projects’ existing lenders to enable the completion of both projects “in due course”.
The latest news comes after a succession of recent blows for Lawrence Kenwright's struggling property group.
Signature Living's problems go back much further than the coronavirus crisis, with some investors having contacted BusinessLive's sister title the Liverpool ECHO over unreturned monies.
But the group's problems have undoubtedly been brought to a dramatic head by the strict lockdown measures brought in by government to stop the spread of the virus - which have seen hotels forced to close.
Earlier this month we revealed that the company behind the Shankly Hotel, perhaps Signature's most famous hotel, had gone into administration.
The administrators involved said that they expect the hotel to open again for business when lockdown restrictions are lifted, with new enquiries still being accepted.
This was followed by two other Signature companies - meaning five have now been placed into administration.