Construction on a £12m luxury apartment scheme in Yorkshire is at a standstill after it was disrupted by financial difficulties, but developer Christine Yorath is confident work will resume soon.
The nine-apartment scheme, The Residences at Val d’Or in Shadwell, north Leeds, is being developed through Valdor Apartments, a joint venture between Christine and Torsion Homes.
The development has been affected by the collapse of Torsion Construction, which entered administration in July. Both Torsion Homes and Torsion Construction are part of the wider Torsion Group.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Christine stressed that Torsion Homes, her joint venture partner, remained in business, although the difficulties in the construction division had created a knock-on effect for the project. “There’s a crossover in terms of suppliers and things like that, contractors, subcontractors,” she said.
As a result, it is understood that a notice to appoint administrators has been filed for Valdor Apartments by its funder, United Trust Bank, as part of a restructuring process. Christine said that discussions over the future of the development were well advanced and that work could resume once a new contractor had been appointed.
She said: “We’ve actually got to the point now where we’ve more or less finalised. I’m just looking at an email I’m about to open on the tender submission.”
Christine has been working to find an alternative construction company capable of completing the scheme to its original specification. She said the priority was to appoint a contractor with experience of both housebuilding and high-quality interior fit-outs. “This isn’t a two white plastic sockets in a room kind of level,” she said.
The change of contractor is not expected to alter the apartments’ planned finishes. Christine said the kitchens, bathrooms, wardrobes, carpets, tiles and other specifications had already been selected, with much of the design and procurement work completed.
She hopes the apartments will be ready within seven months of work restarting.
Construction activity has gradually reduced since spring this year, but the site remains managed and secured, Christine said. She added that work was continuing away from the site itself to prepare for the next stage.
The basement, ground floor and first floor have been built and many of the windows have been manufactured, with some already installed and others awaiting fitting. The roof and penthouse are still to be completed.
“The hard work’s done,” she said. “So once we get the roof on and rendered, it will start to open up.”
The development occupies the site of the former Val d’Or, the Art Deco family home where Christine and her former football manager husband, Terry Yorath, raised their children, including television presenter Gabby Logan. The original house was demolished to make way for the new building, designed by Den Architecture to reflect elements of its predecessor.
Planning permission was granted in September 2023, with construction beginning in 2025. Speaking to the Yorkshire Post in March 2026, Christine said she hoped it would be completed by Christmas this year.
Four of the nine two and three bedroom apartments have been sold, with Christine planning to occupy the penthouse. The development is designed to appeal particularly to buyers looking to move from larger houses into more manageable homes without sacrificing space or specification.
Features include air conditioning, underfloor heating, automated systems and underground parking. Christine believes such facilities will become increasingly attractive to downsizers concerned about the cost of heating and maintaining larger properties. “There is definitely this trend of people wanting to downsize but not downgrade,” she said.
She added that buyers had remained supportive during the disruption and that she had been keeping them informed by email and through regular contact.
The remaining apartments have been taken off the market for the time being, with a second phase of sales to be released once construction resumed.
Christine has worked in property development and management for decades. Her previous projects include apartment conversions in Leeds and York, and she founded Flats in Leeds, a property management business that was sold to Countrywide in 2013.
She said she remained confident in the Val d’Or scheme despite the interruption, and wanted to ensure the replacement contractor had the right skills to deliver the finished apartments to the standard originally planned. Apartment prices for The Residences at Val D’Or range from £995,000 to £1.395m, available through Monroe Estate Agents.