North Point Global

North Point Global Ltd. was a Liverpool-based real estate development company established in 2015. Its stated focus was the regeneration of locations around Liverpool’s docklands and the delivery of large mixed-use property schemes marketed to overseas buyers, particularly individual investors and families in Hong Kong and mainland China. The company operated from the Edward Pavilion at Salthouse Quay and presented itself as a developer capable of combining residential accommodation, hotels, business facilities and commercial space in prominent Liverpool locations. Its best-known proposal was a development marketed as New Chinatown, planned for land near Liverpool’s docks and off Great George Street. Announced in December 2015, the scheme was described as a roughly £200 million project involving glass towers and other high-rise buildings, a hotel, a business centre and approximately 280 homes. The proposed development covered three sites: two associated with Liverpool City Council and a third connected with Urban Splash’s Tribeca scheme. North Point marketed apartments and commercial units through property exhibitions and advertising in Hong Kong and major Chinese cities. Promotional material reportedly referred to guaranteed returns and presented the commercial units as potentially useful to small investors seeking to benefit from the United Kingdom’s entrepreneur visa framework. The company said in 2016 that sales had begun. Chairman David Choules stated in July that 46 of 127 residential units had been sold and that most shops had been placed on leasehold arrangements. Buyers commonly paid deposits or staged payments, with some families reportedly committing tens of thousands of pounds. North Point’s public timetable promised an initial phase in 2017 and completion of the wider development by 2019. In practice, the site did not progress beyond an inauguration event in 2016. No housing project was completed by the company in the United Kingdom. In 2017, North Point reportedly sold development rights for the New Chinatown site to another company associated with Your Housing Group. Around the same period, Bilt Group, identified as a proposed construction subcontractor, experienced financial difficulties and closed. By October 2017, several North Point-linked Liverpool and Manchester projects were described as suspended because of funding and financial problems. These included New Chinatown, Baltic House, North Point Pall Mall, The Paramount and The Quadrant. The company’s collapse left investors facing uncertainty over deposits and promised developments. Reporting in 2018 described projects as stalled or offered for sale and said that hundreds of Chinese and Hong Kong purchasers had been left exposed. Liverpool reporting also stated that construction had not begun at the New Chinatown site, which had deteriorated into an unused area containing rubbish and vermin. North Point entered bankruptcy in 2018. Its failure became part of wider reporting about speculative United Kingdom property schemes marketed off-plan to overseas individual investors. Allegations that the group or related projects involved money laundering were reported as suspicions rather than established findings; no such allegation should be treated as proven. The development site was subsequently associated with demolition and the prospect of a replacement scheme rather than completion of North Point’s proposal.

North Point Global Ltd. was formed in 2015 as a Liverpool property development business. Its public identity was closely associated with proposed regeneration around Liverpool’s docklands, where it sought to assemble or promote sites for residential and mixed-use construction. The company’s headquarters were reported at the Edward Pavilion in Salthouse Quay. The central North Point proposal was a scheme marketed as New Chinatown. Announced in December 2015, it was planned near Liverpool’s docks and Great George Street. The proposed £200 million development was presented as a landmark complex with high-rise glass buildings, a hotel, business facilities, shops and approximately 280 homes. The plan involved three sites, including land connected with Liverpool City Council and a site associated with Urban Splash’s Tribeca development. The project was promoted to buyers in Hong Kong and major Chinese cities through exhibitions and investment-oriented advertising. North Point’s marketing targeted individual middle-class buyers and overseas investors rather than only institutional property purchasers. The company promoted residential units and commercial spaces, and some sales material reportedly referred to guaranteed returns. Commercial accommodation was also presented as potentially relevant to the United Kingdom’s entrepreneur visa route. In July 2016, chairman David Choules said that 46 of 127 residential units had been sold and that most shops had leasehold interest. Deposits were substantial for individual families, with reported payments of around £40,000 representing a 30 percent deposit in some cases. The developer promised an initial phase in 2017 and completion by 2019. Despite an inauguration programme in 2016, physical development did not follow. No North Point housing project was completed in the United Kingdom. In 2017, development rights connected with New Chinatown were reportedly sold to another company identified as Your Housing Group. A planned construction relationship with Bilt Group was also disrupted when that subcontractor encountered financial problems and closed. By October 2017, five projects associated with North Point were reported to be suspended because of a lack of funds or broader financial difficulties: New Chinatown, Baltic House, North Point Pall Mall, The Paramount and The Quadrant. The stalled projects created serious uncertainty for purchasers. By early 2018, reports said that North Point projects had been halted or placed on the market and that hundreds of Chinese and Hong Kong buyers had been left without completed properties or clear repayment arrangements. Liverpool reporting described the New Chinatown site as still unbuilt and degraded, with rubbish and rats present. The project site was later subject to demolition and consideration of a different development. North Point entered bankruptcy in 2018. Its collapse was subsequently discussed in the context of a wider group of United Kingdom property ventures that attracted deposits from small overseas investors through off-plan sales. One related Manchester scheme, Pinnacle Angelgate, was associated with a sister company and entered administration in 2017; reporting said that purchasers had paid more than £31 million in deposits for proposed apartments. These surrounding cases contributed to scrutiny of the marketing and oversight of speculative developments aimed at international buyers. Some press coverage raised suspicions of money laundering in relation to North Point or connected ventures. Those suspicions were not established as proven findings in the available reference material and should not be presented as a confirmed characteristic of the company. The documented outcomes are the failure to deliver its proposed developments, the company’s bankruptcy, and the resulting exposure of overseas purchasers to potential financial losses.

• 2018

  Bankruptcy

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  North Point Global filed for bankruptcy after its development programme stalled.

• 2017

  Development rights reportedly transferred

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  Rights connected with the New Chinatown scheme were reportedly sold to another company associated with Your Housing Group.

• 2017

  Multiple projects suspended

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  Five North Point-linked developments were reported as suspended amid funding and financial problems.

• 2016

  Inauguration and reported early sales

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  North Point held an inauguration programme and reported sales of residential units, but construction did not begin.

• 2015

  Company established

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  North Point Global was established as a Liverpool-based property development company.

• 2015

  New Chinatown proposal announced

  [1]North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced a proposed mixed-use Liverpool development with homes, commercial space, a hotel and business facilities.

North Point Global positioned itself as a Liverpool property developer offering large-scale regeneration projects and investment opportunities to overseas buyers, especially middle-class purchasers and investors from China and Hong Kong.

• Mixed-use property development · 2015

  New Chinatown

  North Point Global’s signature proposal was a planned Liverpool docklands complex marketed as New Chinatown. It was described as a roughly £200 million scheme containing approximately 280 homes, high-rise glass buildings, a hotel, a business centre and retail or other commercial accommodation. The project was promoted to overseas individual buyers and investors, but after an inauguration event no construction was completed by North Point.

• Residential property development

  Baltic House

  Baltic House was one of the Liverpool developments associated with North Point Global. It was among the projects reported as suspended in 2017 because of funding and financial difficulties. No completed North Point development is identified in the available reference material.

• Property development

  North Point Pall Mall

  North Point Pall Mall was listed among the company’s Liverpool projects. Like several other North Point schemes, it was reported as suspended before completion as the group experienced financial problems.

• Property development

  The Paramount

  The Paramount was a North Point-linked development proposal in Liverpool. Available reporting places it among five schemes suspended by 2017, and no completed project is documented.

• Property development

  The Quadrant

  The Quadrant was another proposed North Point development in Liverpool. It was reported as stalled alongside the company’s other schemes and did not reach documented completion before the group’s bankruptcy.

• 2018

  Investor losses and failed developments

  North Point’s bankruptcy and the failure of its proposed developments left Chinese and Hong Kong purchasers facing uncertainty over deposits and promised properties. The company became part of wider scrutiny of United Kingdom off-plan property schemes marketed to small overseas investors.

  Source

• 2017

  Unproven money-laundering suspicions

  Some reporting raised suspicions that North Point or related ventures might have been involved in money laundering. The available material does not establish those suspicions as proven, so they remain allegations rather than confirmed conduct.

  Source

Read more

• 2015New Chinatown overseas investor marketing

  Hong Kong · China

  North Point promoted New Chinatown through property exhibitions and advertising aimed at individual buyers and investors in Hong Kong and major Chinese cities. The marketing highlighted proposed returns, residential ownership and commercial opportunities.

  Outcome. The campaign generated reported off-plan sales and deposits, but the development was not built by North Point.

  Source

• 2018

  BankruptcyOther

  Background

  North Point’s developments had stalled, funding was inadequate and several associated projects were reportedly suspended or offered for sale.

  Action taken

  The company filed for bankruptcy.

  Aftermath

  The collapse left overseas purchasers exposed to unresolved claims and contributed to scrutiny of speculative property marketing in the United Kingdom.

  Source

• 2017

  Transfer of New Chinatown development rightsM&A

  Background

  The New Chinatown scheme had not progressed into construction and North Point was experiencing wider financial pressure.

  Action taken

  Development rights were reportedly sold to another shell company associated with Your Housing Group.

  Aftermath

  The project remained unbuilt and later reporting described purchasers as being left in difficulty.

  Source

• 2015

  Launch of New Chinatown development proposalProduct launch

  Background

  North Point sought to develop a large mixed-use scheme near Liverpool’s docks and attract both domestic and overseas purchasers.

  Action taken

  It announced a proposed complex with homes, retail space, a hotel and business facilities and marketed units to buyers in China and Hong Kong.

  Aftermath

  The plan produced reported early sales but did not proceed to construction.

  Source

1. 1North Point Globalen.wikipedia.org