An update from administrator Opus Restructuring Llp has revealed the scale of debts left by the failure of the firm in April.

Empire Property Concepts Ltd changed its name to MCIOD Limited days before Metro Bank called in the administrators.

The administrators report filed at Companies House is signed-off by Empire director Paul Rothwell who is also listed as a director of a series of other businesses mainly based at the same Doncaster address.

Among those firms is FFH Admin which was registered at the same Doncaster address days before Empire went down.

The Opus report said: “Prior to administration it was understood that the company had 35 members of staff or contractors.

“On attending the company’s trading address the joint administrators were provided with correspondence indicating that the company’s employees were transferred in accordance with the TUPE Regulations to a connected company FFH Admin.”

The Empire website states that the company has completed 1,296 residential units across 31 sites and currently has a pipeline of 2,953 units in planning, spread across a further 27 sites.

It adds that Empire is a trading name of Empire Properties Concepts Limited.

Companies House records show Empire Properties Concepts Limited was registered in June 2021 and has posted only accounts for a dormant company since then showing £100 in the bank.