Laragh Build Ltd has become the second company owned by Cambridgeshire property boss Simon Somerville-Large to enter a voluntary creditors’ liquidation. Documents filed at Companies House show that Laragh Build Ltd has appointed Matthew Robert Howard and Stuart David Morton of Price Bailey LLP of Norwich, as joint liquidators “for the purpose of the winding up”.
It follows the earlier winding up of Laragh House Developments Ltd and the appointment of the same joint liquidators.
A statement of affairs for Laragh Build Ltd show it has debts of £1.33m – less than the £2.30m owed to creditors by Mr Somerville-Large’s other company Laragh House Developments Ltd.
More than 70 creditors of Laragh Build Ltd are shown on the statement of affairs published on the Companies House website.
These include architectural services, painters and decorators, mechanical and fencing contractors, drainage professionals, builders merchants, tool hire, electricians, civil engineers, kitchen installers and turf and landscaping companies.
Also included is £736,967 owed to Peterhouse College, Cambridge, and HM Revenue and Customs who are owed £34,298.
Among the individual creditors are Albion Painters and Decorators (£10,834), CS Brickworks and Groundwork Ltd of Cambridge (£9,059) JDH Electrical Services of March (£12,249), Munster Joinery Ltd of Warwickshire (£83,000) Performance Roofing Contractors Ltd of Great Gransden (£17,624) Superior Finish Contracts Ltd of St Ives (£14,837), Superior Finish Ceramics Ltd, also of St Ives (£28,017) and Sid Bibby Turfy and Landscaping of Sutton, Ely (£4,739).
East Cambridgeshire planners ‘heavy-handed and combative’ over 115 homes plan
The second shareholder of Laragh House Build Ltd is shown as Houghton Homes (Cambridge) Ltd although Andrew Mark Houghton quit as a director in June 2023.
In 2020 Laragh Homes announced a Cambridge collaboration with Houghton Homes Ltd with the latter at the time making a “significant investment” into the company with the promise of providing “new funding to help drive forward the major development programme already in place at Laragh”.
Houghton’s founder Andrew Houghton joined the board of Laragh House Developments Ltd on June 30, 2020, but Companies House records show he resigned from that, also in 2023.
Companies House documents show that Mr Somerville-Large set up another company in September 2023, Laragh Homes Ltd, with a registered office at Incubator 2 Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon. His wife Fiona is also a director.
On December 3 last year Companies House confirmed Laragh Homes Ltd had changed its name to Granta Development Management Ltd with the same Alconbury Weald address.
No accounts or other filing information has been provided.
Combined Authority ‘internal review’ into loans to private developers
Price Bailey has twice been approached for comment but at time of publication have yet to respond.
Mr Houghton has also declined to comment but referred earlier inquiries to Price Bailey.
Laragh Homes is currently part of an investigation into areas of concern raised by Mayor Dr Nik Johnson and the company’s role in helping to deliver the £100k homes and affordable housing policies of former Mayor James Palmer.
It evolves from concerns by residents of Wilburton and a ‘statement of community benefit’ that was provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority used to support a speculative bid to build 115 homes in the village, 35 of them being allocated for affordable homes.
The developer behind the scheme, Laragh Homes, had teamed up with the Stretham and Wilburton Community Land Trust, chaired by former deputy mayor Charles Roberts, also a former leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, to win consent for the homes.
The letter had to be withdrawn when it was revealed the scheme did not have community support and four years after the application was made, East Cambridgeshire District Council rejected it for failing to satisfy planning requirements.
The Combined Authority is currently coming to a conclusion in its investigations of the Wilburton scheme and other loans provided to Laragh to bring about either £100k homes or other affordable housing.
As previously reported by CambsNews, a small team of councillors are looking at, among other things, the following:
- The process by which the Combined Authority established a partnership with Laragh Homes and the contractual arrangements put in place.
- The decision to establish a loan fund with part of the housing funding, including communications with central government.
- The governance of loans to East Cambridgeshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire Trading Company, and Laragh Homes.
- In particular the decision to approve a loan after the start of the Covid pandemic.
- The governance around the decision to support community land trusts
- The issuing of a statement of community benefit in relation to the Stretham and Wilburton Community Land Trust.
A report is expected to come before the Combined Authority early next month.
SIMON SOMERVILLE-LARGE – from his website
Managing Director and Founder of Laragh
With unrivalled knowledge of the Cambridge property market and over thirty years’ experience of residential and commercial development, Simon has successfully directed the development of more than 50 schemes throughout the city and surrounding areas.
Before he found Laragh back in 2007, Simon held high-level positions at Wimpley Developments, Shepherd Construction and Camstead Homes.
Galvanising his expertise and experience, Simon handpicks specialist teams for each and every project, creating unique design concepts and inspired solutions to deliver beautiful, unique homes that we can be proud of.
Laragh website link (yet to be updated)
