James Clark and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to Camstead Limited, Scotfield Group Limited and Yelcon Limited on 19th November 2024, together known as Camstead Homes.
Based in Leeds, Camstead Homes specialises in building top-end residential developments in prime and rural locations.
The companies currently have three developments under way, comprising Blackberry Walk in Derwenthorpe, Tailors Green in Shepley and The Heath in Adel. Previous developments include Bradwell Springs in the Peak District and Green Lane Mills / Weavers Beck in Yeadon.
Following the appointment of the administrators, all work that was scheduled to be completed by the companies will be paused while the joint administrators seek to find solutions for all sites. The administrators have retained two members of staff while they explore options for the sites but the other 20 have been made redundant.
According to the administrators, Camstead Homes had experienced sustained trading difficulties over 2024 due to various economic pressures, which in turn, led to cash shortages and increased pressure from suppliers.
James Clark, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “2024 has been another challenging year for the building and construction industry, with housebuilders continuing to battle with the impact of rising raw material costs, wafer-thin margins and the impact of high interest rates and rising mortgage costs on consumers.
“While the government’s planning reforms have given hope to many across the industry, unfortunately, the trading difficulties encountered by Camstead Homes proved too challenging to overcome.”
He added: “We appreciate news of the administration will cause a great deal of concern for those homeowners and residents of sites where development work remains underway. Our immediate priority is to work with key stakeholders to find alternative solutions which may enable work across these sites to be completed.
“In particular, we will be working with our appointed agents to market the Blackberry Walk site at Derwenthorpe. We are hopeful for significant interest from this process and would encourage parties interested in acquiring this site to make contact with us and our appointed agents, Watling Real Estate, at the earliest opportunity.”
