A Scottish construction firm has collapsed with a debt of over £4 million. Hood Property Cardrona Ltd, established in 2021, was in the process of building a 20-unit housing development near Peebles.
However, James Stephen and Kerry Bailey of BDO LLP were appointed as joint administrators for the Ayrshire-based company in February 2025. Upon appointment, administrators had to “forcibly gain entry” to the site where no workers were present.
A report shared to the Companies House website confirms the construction firm owes “substantial amounts” of debt to secured creditors. Some are likely to “suffer a shortfall” on their lending as more money would be required to finish the construction site and its properties.
The registered address has also changed from its original 11 Portland Road, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. It is now registered to the administrators’ office located on 2 Atlantic Square, 31 York Street, Glasgow.
Administrators said in their initial report: “Upon appointment, my staff together with our appointed security agent visited the Company’s development site at Cardrona next to the town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
View 2 ImagesThe 20-unit housing development was left uncompleted (Image: Getty Images)
“Nobody was present at the site and they therefore required to forcibly gain entry to enable an initial assessment of the site to be carried out and new security measures to be put in place.”
The latest progress update from administrators dated March 2026 advises that the site was put up for sale last year. Following six failed proposals, an offer from another unnamed party has been accepted, with the sale set to be “completed within the next few weeks.”
The amount owed to first ranked secured creditor Crowd Property is £4,557,369, although it is expected to only receive £1.7 million. The HMRC has also submitted a a secondary preferential claim of £4,684.93, although it is not expected to receive any return in its lending.
Amounts due to secondary creditors Duart investments and Castle Fox are currently unknown, although the reports also suggests these firms are not likely to see a return on their lending. Since there were no registered employees with the company, there are no preferential creditors during the administration period.
Following failed correspondence with Duart, administrators said they needed to gain court authority to sell the site. While authority is expected to be granted, it has led to a “delayed completion date, resulting in us incurring additional legal, time and property holding costs.”
The report read: “This sale is now proceeding and we anticipate it will be completed in the next few weeks. However, due to Duart Investment Holdings Limited failing to respond to correspondence, we are now required to make an application to Court for authority to sell the site without Duart agreeing to release their discharge.
Article continues below
“Crowd, as the first ranking secured creditor, will suffer a significant shortfall on their lending following the sale. Therefore, there will be no recovery for Duart as the second ranking secured creditor. As such we anticipate the Court will grant the application but the process is leading to a delayed.”