People who poured their life savings into the Hamilton Hub are urging developers to sell up to buyers “waiting in the wings”
5 Cleveland Street in Birkenhead, site of the Hamilton Hub development.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
People who invested their life savings into a building project which then collapsed before it was completed have urged developers to sell up as the firm in charge of the project reportedly holds out for better offers. People told the ECHO how they poured tens of thousands of pounds into the Hamilton Hub project, a 200-bed student complex in Birkenhead.
But the project, which would have seen the former council offices on Cleveland Street converted into student flats was not completed, and the 8% net rental return guaranteed for the first five years did not arrive.
The brains behind the project, bankrupt Liverpool property developer Sze Ming Yeung, told the ECHO this week that there are “buyers waiting in the wings”, but that developer Hamilton Studios Ltd “wouldn’t insult people by offering 40p on the pound”. He said developers are holding out for a government offer the firm believes would be more lucrative than selling the building on the open market.
But on investor, who poured his life savings in the scheme has implored Hamilton Studios to sell up as he fears he will never see their money again and want to cut their losses.
The clock is ticking on Hamilton Studios Ltd, with a compulsory strike-off notice lodged last month and just a month left until the firm is dissolved, after its creditors moved to wind up the company in an attempt to claw some of their investment back.
The ECHO has attempted to contact the current directors of the firm, but has not received any response at the time of writing.
Kaiser Tayebejee, 75, invested £63,000 into the project as he prepared for retirement. Mr Tayebejee, from Leicester, said he was “completely shattered” by the situation.
Kaiser Tayebejee, 75, poured £63,000 into the scheme(Image: Supplied)
He said: “When I think of the money, it drives me crazy. All my savings are gone; ruined. There are quite a few investors who have suffered.
“At one time I felt suicidal. I’m just recovering now. My wife has given me a lot of support; without her, it would have been a disaster.
“There is nothing I can do now. I’m 76 in August. We don’t hear anything from the developer.
“I’d prefer to sell it for less and sell it now. Whatever we get for it, it keeps being delayed, and the longer it takes the more it will cost.”
In 2017, Liverpool-based developer YPG put forward grand plans to turn an old council office building at 5 Cleveland Street in Birkenhead into a 200-unit student accommodation block called the Hamilton Hub. The development promised to be “high quality” and “another step in the regeneration of the wider area”.
The plans, reported to be worth around £12m in 2018, received planning permission following cross-party support by Wirral councillors. The scheme was advertised as having “unbelievably low prices” and being “truly unmissable” with units going for a minimum of £45,450 and a 8% net rental return guaranteed for five years.
The building was handed over on a 250-year lease from Wirral Council to Hamilton Studios Ltd, the YPG-linked company set to deliver the project. YPG managing director at the time Sze Ming Yeung was named as the guarantor.
Sze Ming Yeung
£50,000 was to be paid to the council on approval of planning permission and £450,000 would be due upon completion of the development. By early 2020, the ECHO understands the certificates for 150 units had been issued following approval by Wirral Council officers.
However the building was not finished and one person told the ECHO their unit was never “suitable for occupation nor accessible”. Mr Yeung claims some units were habitable despite parts of the building being unfinished but months later, no one had moved in and no rental money came despite invoices being sent out.
In the years that followed, investors said they were told options were being looked at, including turning the building into asylum seeker accommodation. There was a rumoured potential buyer but those who invested have told the ECHO they struggled to get any answers about what was happening.
Mr Yeung claimed Home Office representatives once described the Hamilton Hub as “one of the best facilities they had seen [for asylum-seeker accommodation]”. He further claimed that such interest has been renewed and that he has been told Home Office representatives are to visit the site in the coming days.
The ECHO approached the Home Office for comment but has not yet received a reply. Mr Yeung said covid lockdowns “killed” the project, with local education institutions changing plans during the pandemic.
5 Cleveland Street in Birkenhead(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He said: “The student market isn’t the same as it was and the building is blighted by vandalism. But, still, the building ticks all the right boxes in terms of location and travel links. There is dire need for social housing across the country and this building could be put to use.
“At a certain price this will always find a buyer, but the objective is to get [investors] all their money back.
“It has already cost Hamilton Studios hundreds of thousands of pounds. There has been contribution from any investor towards the upkeep, quite rightly, but eventually Hamilton Studios ran out of money. Buyers want to use it for social housing.”
Mr Yeung believes the building would now only fetch between three and four million pounds on the open market. The development was reported to be worth around £12m in 2018.
Mr Yeung resigned from Hamilton Studios Ltd and declared bankruptcy in 2025. Clarifying his position, he said: “I don’t have any interest in it [the Hamilton Hub and Hamilton Studios Ltd.], except that I know so much about the property and people come to me for advice. If I can help, I will.”
The Hamilton Hub Action Group, a group of 73 investors who say they put an estimated £4.9m into the development across 98 different units. They believe they have lost rental income totalling nearly £2.4m.
Fiona Matthews from Formby invested £54,000 in the scheme.(Image: Supplied)
Fiona Matthews, who invested £54,000 in the scheme, said : “I don’t have any money left to take any legal action. A lot of these investors are in a similar situation.
“It’s life savings, it’s pensions, small inheritances that have gone. There are some people who are bigger investors involved, but an awful lot of people are just ordinary people who have just made the biggest mistake of their lives.
“I genuinely have no idea [if I’ll see the money again]. My concern is that it could start costing me money in some way. I still have an ownership of a lease on that building and at one point we were getting council tax demands from Wirral.”
Wirral Council continues to own the freehold of the site, having sold the property to Hamilton Studios on a 250-year lease. A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “The investors’ legal agreement is with Hamilton Studios Ltd. If investors (separately or collectively) want to pursue the matter with Hamilton Studios Ltd, they would need to take their own legal advice on the best next step, either individually or as a group.”
The Home Office was approached for comment. The ECHO has also approached Hamilton Studios via the company listed as their correspondence address on Companies House.