Skyscraper flats left high and dry

A developer has “pulled the plug” on plans to create apartments in one of Bradford’s least-loved buildings amid fears over the stability of the city centre property market.

JM Construction had wanted to buy High Point, once the headquarters of the Yorkshire Building Society, to convert into flats in a multi-million pound facelift for the concrete-clad office block.

Will Kilner, Bradford Telegraph & Argus - 18 February 2008

But John Mulleady, managing director of JM Construction, today revealed his Morley company had pulled out of a deal with the building’s owner, Manoj Aggarwal, because the apartment market in Bradford had “died a death”.

Mr Mulleady’s viewpoint has been hotly disputed by other developers and agents, although one city living specialist admitted that some apartment prices had fallen by up to 20 per cent as first-time investors panicked in the face of the Northern Rock crisis and the global credit crunch - full article