There are fresh concerns over millions of pounds paid to builders over a seven month period at the New Chinatown site.
The Great George Street Project Limited ( GGSPL), the most recent development company behind the controversial project, collapsed into administration earlier this month. GGSPL is now to be run by administrators Cowgills, who will decide if it can be saved or should be wound up and dissolved.
The ambitious scheme to build new homes, shops and offices was first launched by the Chinatown Development Company (CDC) in 2015. The scheme began to stall following a complex court hearing in Preston and the developers later became embroiled in a legal dispute with Liverpool Council.
READ MORE: Liverpool's New Chinatown dream collapses after seven year 'nightmare'
The scheme was not built and investors in the scheme formed a buyers' company to try and recover their deposits. Now the buyers' company has expressed fresh concern over payments made to builders in 2016.
The ECHO previously revealed how the Chinatown Development Company (CDC) paid £7,018,866.38 to Bilt NCT between March and November 2016.
A spokesman for New Chinatown Buyers said: "The Chinatown Development Company paid £7m to Bilt (NCT) for building work. We have always said that this appears to have been a lot of money for what appears to have been preliminary groundwork. We now hope that attempts will be made to ascertain where this money went."
A spokesperson for administrators Cowgills said: "There is a statutory duty to investigate the reasons for failure and the conduct of directors, which includes reviewing company records and bank statements."
In 2020 a property expert who had some knowledge of the New Chinatown project from 2016 spoke to the ECHO about the monies paid to Bilt. He said that the work was awarded to BILT NCT only after after a company called PHD1CL ceased trading.
The man said that all the payments made by CDC to BILT NCT were independently valued and verified by surveyors.
In 2019 a director of Bilt group and Bilt NCT was struck off for seven years following an investigation into unauthorised payments. David Green was disqualified after an Insolvency Service probe into the Bilt Group.
It is not clear if Mr Green was directly involved in any of the transactions between CDC and Bilt (NCT).
At the time, a spokesman for the Insolvency Service said: "Investigators discovered that David Green caused Bilt Group to move around £375,000 to a separate company which was also under David Green’s control, while payments in excess of £660,000 were made to third parties not clearly linked to the company’s trading activities.
"Further investigations found that there was no evidence within Bilt Group’s records that these payments were genuine company expenditure."
GGSPL entered into administration following a petition to the High Court by Maghull businessman and creditor Frank Molloy.
The latest filed accounts for GGSPL from December 2019 show the company had assets of £6,656,600 and liabilities of £9,430,199, with a net deficit of £2,773,599.
The buyers company have said the administration will now provide them with an opportunity to recover their money. Daniel Moretti , speaking on behalf of the developers, also welcomed the administration.
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