SINGAPORE, Jan 8 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The following is a statement by Daniel Mark Harrison & Co. (DMH & Co.):

Daniel Mark Harrison & Co. (DMH & Co.), the largest property developer in the North of England, agreed Monday to extend a January 4 deadline to purchase rival Absolute Living Developments (ALD) after announcing it would raise prices by as much as 15% on its Runcorn-based White House property.

DMH & Co. said that it is still in talks with the shareholders of ALD as well as a number of the stakeholders in ALD’s development properties in Manchester and Bradford in the United Kingdom.

“While the financing is still in place to do the whole deal, since becoming a Board Member, I’ve found it frustrating to get straight answers on a whole range of issues from various internal parties. It also appears that there may be a number of accounting irregularities with ALD and that concerns us a lot,” said Daniel Mark Harrison, Founder & CEO of DMH & Co.

“However, it is also still clear that cherry-picking the very best of the ALD portfolio is an option for us and the plan to buy into its best developments is still going ahead,” added Mr. Harrison.

In the event that the company cherry-picks specific assets belonging to ALD, it is likely to acquire the unsold portions of the Orchid Point developments, specifically The Printhouse units and the Empress Mill units. The Orchid Point properties are located in central Manchester in Trafford.

DMH & Co. will treat all existing ALD customers who purchase a property sold by DMH & Co. as clients of its own development firm and not as ALD clients, the company said. This will offer investors who previously dealt with ALD and who are now DMH & Co. customers additional benefits including secure property buybacks.

White House “Runaway Success”

DMH & Co. acquired White House in Runcorn, Liverpool from 2380 Reversions Limited in November last year. 2380 Reversions formerly engaged ALD as the marketing agent for the White House property, which is now being sold under DMH & Co.’s Harrison Homes Developments brand.

DMH & Co. stunned property market analysts in December when it disclosed that it had sold a fifth of the development to a major Chinese financial institution in a block pre-sale deal.

Since then, DMH & Co. has sold a further 49 units of the building in pre-sale agreements with block purchasers. The company will increase the price of all units by between 10% - 15% after Chinese New Year as a result of the unprecedented demand by investors as a result of the construction of the Mersey Bridge tollway project getting underway.

“The White House has been a runaway success story, for which members of local government have written to us to congratulate us on our efforts and to offer their support. I am pleased to confirm that we are now working side-by-side with local political leaders,” said Mr. Harrison. “At the end of the day the massive sales drive on this site and the broad political support we are receiving for this property is a direct result of our strong reputation as a reliable business that delivers results for all stakeholders.”

About Daniel Mark Harrison & Co. Pte. Ltd.

Daniel Mark Harrison & Co. (DMH & Co.) is the North of England’s largest property development company based in Singapore and Manchester with over SGD $150 million of real estate assets and sales of SGD $40 million per year. The company’s Manchester-based Orchid Point developments are the fastest-selling properties in the North of England and are yielding 8% annual returns. DMH & Co.’s founder, Daniel Mark Harrison, is the oldest of 9 generations of the founding family of Europe’s oldest security printers, Harrison & Sons Ltd., founded in 1750 and sold to De La Rue PLC in 1997.