A 430K SF London office development scheduled to feature a “rooftop forest” has gone into receivership.

Receivers were appointed to a loan secured against the Roots In The Sky development in Blackfriars, which is being developed by Fabrix, Bloomberg reports.

Georgina Eason and Michael Sanders of MHA are the receivers, according to EG.

Fabrix defaulted on a loan provided by Motcomb Estates, an investment vehicle of the Reuben brothers, according to Bloomberg. Motcomb and Fabrix could seek to bring in new capital to complete the scheme, which started construction at the beginning of the year. Mace and Erith were awarded a £180M construction contract to build the scheme in October last year.

The project involves the conversion of the former Blackfriars Crown Court into a new green office scheme. Fabrix bought the site for £64M in the first quarter of 2020, and completion was scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

Roots In The Sky was set to feature a 1.4-acre rooftop forest of 125 established trees and more than 10,000 plants.

Fabrix aimed to make the building net-zero carbon in both construction and operation, targeting BREEAM Outstanding. The structure was to incorporate reclaimed steel salvaged from a building being demolished in the City of London. Using reclaimed steel is 80% less carbon intensive than recycled steel, Fabrix said in a 2022 release about the development.

Companies controlled by the Reuben brothers are no strangers to taking control of development projects to which they have provided debt.

At the end of June 2022, Motcomb bought the Admiralty Arch hotel scheme, featuring direct views of Buckingham Palace, from Rafael Serrano’s Prime Investment Capital for an undisclosed amount.

PIC bought a 250-year lease from the UK government on the famous arched property for £60M in 2015, with plans to turn it into a 96-room hotel operated by Waldorf Astoria. It previously housed government offices.

The Reubens provided an £85M bridge loan to the scheme in 2019 after original funder Banco Sabadell declined to extend its debt on the development. In 2020, a new £110M loan was put in place, and a year later, a £180M loan maturing in 2022 was provided by the Reubens.

At the time of that deal, it was reported the loan gave the brothers a significant minority equity stake in the project, and they have since taken full control. The Waldorf is set to open in the building in 2025.