The collapse of north-east housebuilder Stewart Milne Group has brought back painful memories for an Aberdeenshire couple.
Samantha Leckie and her fiance Allan Ogston thought they had found the house of their dreams in Aberdeen’s Countesswells development.
Just a week before they were due to move into their new home, they were left devastated when Countesswells Development Limited (CDL), a subsidiary of Stewart Milne Group, went into administration in November 2021.
The couple had already paid a £1,000 reservation fee and a five-figure sum of money was waiting to be transferred as part deposit.
News of the collapse of Stewart Milne Group, along with hundreds of job losses, has brought back “stressful” memories for Samantha.
‘Emotional and stressful’
Just over two years later the whole group is in administration leaving partly finished projects.
The 32-year-old said: “When I heard the news I got really emotional because I can just imagine how these people feel.
“It’s the most stressful time not knowing if you have a roof over your head or not.”
Samantha and Allan, 37, were already living in Countesswells when they decided to buy a new four-bedroom house.
The brand marketing manager was already mum to Jacob, who was five at the time, and pregnant with their daughter Olivia-Jade.
She put her house up for sale and signed a contract with Stewart Milne in the summer of 2021 paying £1,000 to reserve a house.
Samantha said: “I sold my house in August and the person who bought it was due to move in December. We were going to move out and into our new house the same day.
“It was just literally doors away from where I previously stayed.”
Anxious wait after administration news
CDL’s directors blamed disruption caused by an oil and gas downturn, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, for the company’s collapse.
Samantha said: “I honestly couldn’t comprehend the scale on which it would actually affect us.
“But our solicitors called us and explained there was a lot of legalities to go through and for us to sit tight.
I honestly couldn’t comprehend the scale on which it would actually affect us.”
“At first we really didn’t panic and were speaking to Stewart Milne at the same time.
“They reassured us that everything would be fine but as we went in to further conversations with our solicitors they were uncovering more problems with buying from Countesswells Development.
“Although we hadn’t signed a deed to transfer our deposit money, which was still sitting with our solicitor, we had signed a contract to say we were going to buy the house.
“It really came down to the wire. The night before we were due to move we didn’t even know if it would be happening.
“My daughter was only nine weeks old and Jacob was five. It was horrendous.”
Warning over contract
At 10am on the day they were due to move, they got a call from their solicitor, Chris Comfort at Aberdein Considine.
Samantha said: “They put all the cards on the table and told us what it would mean if we went through with the sale.
“What we were essentially told is because we’d be buying from administrators it meant that even though Stewart Milne were promising they’d finish the tarring of the road outside our house, if they went bust, we would be liable to pay for and arrange the tarring of the road.
“We were also told if we bought from the administrators and Stewart Milne went bust at any point over the next 10 years then our house could be legally repossessed by anyone who was due money.
“We felt like we’d be living with that hanging over our heads for the next 10 years and were terrified.
“On our gut instinct and advice of our solicitors we stepped away from the contract.”
‘We were homeless’
Left with nowhere to stay they turned to family, friends and neighbours for support.
The family moved into Allan’s dad’s home while they anxiously waited for news on if they’d be tied to the contract and face losing thousands of pounds.
Samantha said: “When it dawned on us that we were actually homeless and have to find somewhere to stay for the foreseeable future I dropped to my knees.
“It was the worst moment knowing you couldn’t provide a home for your kids.
“We didn’t have a roof to put over our kids’ heads.
“We were so lucky our families and neighbours rallied round us.
“Our furniture went into Allan’s sister’s double garage and we went to live at Allan’s dad’s house.
“We sat for two weeks not knowing if we’d lost all our money.”
Traumatic experience
After a long two-week wait the couple received a call from Aberdein Considine to confirm they had managed to get them out of the contract and wouldn’t lose any money.
Samantha said: “Chris Comfort went out of his way to help us.
“After two weeks he phoned me and told us he got us out of the deal and all our money back.
“That two-week period I can honestly say I was properly depressed.
“I had to look after my children but as soon as I put Jacob to school I was pretty much lying on the sofa and crying all day.
“I was miserable.
“It was one of the most traumatic experiences I’ve ever gone through and I would never buy a new build house again because of it for the fear of it happening again.
“I can only hope anyone affected makes sure they’ve got sound advice.”
The site, which was being marketed by Shepherd Chartered Surveryors, still remains in administration.
A spokesman said: “The joint administrators continue to maintain the development while discussions continue with various parties.”
Meanwhile, buyers who have bought or reserved homes from Stewart Milne Group and have not yet moved in will be contacted by the administrators directly.
Current residents with outstanding works are asked to contact SMHomeowners@teneo.com for further information.