Firms hit by Gateway crash

The Citizen, 9 March 2001

St Andrews firm, Hardies Chartered Surveyors, are one of a number of local businesses hit by the financial collapse of the Gateway Centre on the outskirts of the town.

The company, which lost a total of £4500 when the organisation behind the Gateway - St Andrews International Ltd - went into receivership last year, joins a large group of creditors who have been told they will never see their money again.

The creditors range from local shops and businesses in St Andrews, who have been left with debts of £100 or less, all the way up to builders, Miller Construction, who are believed to be facing losses of approximately £1.8 million.

The centre’s main financial backers, Lloyds TSB, are also owed a staggering £5 million.

Managing partner of Hardies, Jim McArthur, told the Citizen: “We have been told that we have absolutely no chance of getting back the £4500 we are owed.

“This represents a significant amount for us, but it has to be said that, by the time we were told of it, it did not come as a surprise.

“I sent in the bills for the work we had done very quickly because, towards the end, it was evident that there were problems with the company.

“In this business you are always looking to make sure everything is fine financially, but there were indications that things were not so, long before the general public were notified.”

Hardies’ year-long involvement in the project started at the very beginning of the process and lasted until the Gateway building had been completed.

The company provided detailed planning supervisor services required under health and safety legislation, and clerk of work services, inspecting the building throughout its construction.

Mr McArthur added: “We have had cases of non-payment of fees before, but it is usually down to a dispute between the client and the contractor. We have never been in a situation where a client has gone into receivership.

“In the construction business, things do go wrong.

“Having taken all the precautions we can, there is nothing we can do except to accept what has happened as a fact of life.”

If and when the centre finally finds a buyer, the first priority of receivers, Grant Thornton, will be to repay debts to Government agencies, including customs and excise duties and national insurance payments.

This will be followed by any debts incurred to the local authority.

Any money left over will go to the secured creditors such as Lloyds.

However, with the Gateway’s asking price of offers over £2.5 million, the chances of Lloyds securing more than a tiny fraction of their £5 million investment now seems unlikely.

A spokesman for Grant Thornton stated this week that it was highly unlikely any of the smaller creditors would be able to recover their losses.

A Lloyds TSB representative said: “It is quite a delicate situation, and we are monitoring it closely.”