Apartment investors livid

By Fleur Leyden and Rebecca Urban

"Vitriolic" was one word used to describe the most recent meeting of a group of jittery, and now very peeved, investors in Gavin Muir's proposed Port Melbourne apartment block.

Twenty-four investors gathered at the Bay Street site under the impression they were to be presented with a rescue package for the stalled $123 million complex, called The Muir.

But hopes for a lifeline from Mariner Corporate Finance and KordaMentha were dashed when Muir - scouting for a better offer elsewhere - took too long in getting back to the potential backers. The investors - some of whom are personal friends of Muir - received a 50 per cent discount for their apartments when they paid upfront.

But when his half-owned electronics maker TEAC went into administration recently and the Bank of Scotland began breathing down his neck, Muir asked the investors to cough up the full apartment price again, on top of their initial deposit, with the promise that he would pay them back from his own pocket.

So an investor who forked out $400,000 would have to pay an extra $800,000, taking the total outlay to $1.2 million.

We're told the investors, who could quite possibly miss out on their apartments - plus the free TEAC plasma screen televisions promised when they bought off the plan - angrily refused the offer. It will be interesting to see how the Bank of Scotland views this latest development. Muir was quoted recently saying that the project was on track, with building set to start in three weeks. We hear that's unlikely.