Crosby chasing collapsed Sunley Turriff for £1m

Developer Crosby Homes is seeking an estimated £1m from collapsed contractor Sunley Turriff over poor workmanship on its X Building apartment project in Liverpool.

However, Crosby will struggle to recoup the funds: Sunley went into administration last July, having run up debts of around £15m in 2000 to 2002; and there are rumours that creditors can expect to see little back.

Administrator Ernst & Young has refused to comment on the case and would only tell CJ that it is "too early to talk about the situation for Sunley's creditors".

Crosby might still consider legal action as the Bixteth Street site remains cordoned off by the council after structural engineers found remedial problems with the external brick envelope of the 88-luxury apartment building at the end of last year.

The project, thought to be worth £10m, is now running 13 months late. The completion deadline has slipped from February 2003 to a provisional date of March 2004.

In an official statement, Crosby has blamed the problems on the liquidation of Sunley and "would be rectified as soon as possible".

Unofficially, a company source told CJ that Sunley had "made a pig's ear" of the job and that work had deteriorated on the site on the lead up to the group's demise.

Kier North West has been appointed to complete the project for Crosby.

A Kier source said: "There is a lot to sort out. The problems are worse than has been reported. It is not just the brickwork. There are some real questions over the whole structural stability of the building."

He added that a new series of building plans will be presented to the council's building control department in two weeks' time before work starts.