Stourbridge-based MacMullen Associates has completed a £3.5 million medical and office project in Warwick for Portobello Developments as part of its specialist property recovery service.

The development had been managed for Portobello by companies from the Pettifer Group which went into administration in 2008, leaving the Warwick project part built.

MacMullen Associates assumed the role of employers agent and development manager and completed the project.

Avonside Medical Centre comprises a fully fitted, state of the art primary care centre providing six GP consulting rooms, specialist nursing and midwifery services, minor surgical procedures and full IT connections to the NHS data system. As a highly complex project, it was essential that a seamless transition took place so that the doctors and 30 staff could move in on schedule.

Nick Norbury, from MacMullen Associates, said: “With the project having been pre-let to the doctors, pre-sold to an investor, and with a bank and main contractor to reassure, we had to work fast, ensuring that completion took place on time and that the documentation and warranties were completed.

“TS Contracts of Cannock were on site and took a very flexible and co-operative approach to the changes in circumstances.

“Fortunately the funding bank were known to us and were quickly reassured that their position was absolutely secure.”

Portobello House, a free-standing grade A office building of 3,850 sq ft has also been completed and disposal agent Bill Wareing, of Leamington based Wareing & Co, reports positive interest, with a number of companies viewing.

Mr Wareing said: “With a very prominent position on a main road, the building has great advertising value for an occupant. It has its own car park, and with a high specification, including comfort cooling, it is the first new building in the area to be completed in the last couple of years. Each of the three floors is self-contained so sub-letting would be very easy”.

Commenting on the project, managing director, David MacMullen, said: “We are finding that our combination of experience in property development, and management through the construction process is proving invaluable to clients who are potentially left high and dry by service providers or builders becoming insolvent.

“The same problems can arise with banks when their borrowers fail, leaving part-built projects which provide precious little security until they are finished and become saleable.

“Sadly this is a growing area and we are getting increasing numbers of calls for assistance from insolvency practitioners, as we can help to increase value enormously.

“Banks, for example, may have lent on a housing project and although the entire finance facility has not been taken up, the developer becomes insolvent and all work stops.

“With residential property you can guarantee that selling the project ‘as is’ means only a speculator will buy it – at a big discount.

“We can arrange for units to be completed so that houses and flats can be sold to individual buyers. Although the bank has to finance completion costs, in our experience the additional expenditure is repaid four or five times over.”