NEW APARTMENTS in Bradford city centre will finally be built after a restructuring deal was completed.

The Xchange building, above easy Gym and the former Five Guys restaurant, was left hanging in the balance in April last year when the original company behind the 126-flat complex, Pinnacle (Bradford) Ltd, went bust.

Administrators Quantuma tied up a deal to secure its future in September last year, but despite saying six months ago it would be complete this month, the deal was only approved at the end of February.

READ MORE: Xchange building saved by new deal

Simon Campbell, Joint Administrator and Director at Quantuma, said: “This deal has been delayed due to the complexity of drawing together the interests of the landlord, secured creditors and over 100 investors.

"Importantly, investors now have control over the development with the prospect of a fully-refurbished property as originally intended.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to rebuild the trust of all stakeholders, and I would like to thank the many professionals who came together to drive this deal through to completion. We should see development work re-start shortly.”

Some of the original investors handed over between 50 and 80 per cent of the value of their flats as a deposit, which they had stood to lose if a new deal had not been secured.

Once the administrators were appointed and a deal was secured, buyers were asked to pay off the rest of their flats and hand over an extra 14 per cent to see the flats completed.

Some investors agreed to hand over the extra cash, but others said they could not risk more money and pulled out - losing out on the original investment.

The new deal transfers the long leasehold into a new special purpose vehicle (SPV) controlled by the original investors, allowing them to appoint new developers to complete the project, with completion expected within the next six months.

Quantuma was appointed as administrators of Pinnacle (Bradford) Limited, part of the Manchester-based Pinnacle Group, after the construction company ran out of funds in 2017.

"Quantuma worked with investors, lenders and the landlord to negotiate a sustainable deal to restructure and refinance the Xchange project."

Niall Monks, Director of the Xchange Development Company 2018, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to deliver this complex rescue on behalf of buyers.

"The project has outstanding potential, and we look forward to completing the construction and welcoming residents to the building in 2019.

"A limited number of apartments will soon be offered for sale as well, and we feel confident that they will be in high demand.”

One man, who originally handed over a £75,000 deposit to buy a two-bedroom flat and a car parking space, said he was told the development would take 10 months when be bought a flat as an investment after taking early retirement.

He decided not to hand over any more money when the new deal was struck and walked away from his investment.

He said: "I cannot afford to risk more any more money and throw good money after bad.

"We have seen nothing back after being offered a six per cent return on the flat early on by Pinnacle."

Another investor, who made the decision to back out of the new deal when it was announced how it would be financed, said: "My father and I both withdrew from the completion plan about a month ago when they laid out how they planned to move ahead with the project.

"It didn't seem right to us that we should pay more money towards Pinnacle Alliances' bad debt.

"We both invested 80 per cent of the total cost of our properties in November of 2016, and it is really hard to accept that we have lost all this money three years later.

"We just were not prepared to gamble any further."