A Northern Ireland property developer owed more than £10m to creditors when a family run company collapsed.

Herdmans Limited and a sister company, Herdmans Holdings Limited, moved into property development in 2004, investing in various projects.

It is understood that in June, outstanding debt and pension payments prompted the Ulster Bank to call in its mortgages at Herdmans Limited and Herdmans Holdings Ltd.

According to a Strabane newspaper it has emerged this week that the struggling company, once one of the region's biggest employers, owed more than £10 million when it collapsed.

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A report that can be found in Companies House Belfast listed Ulster Bank as the creditor with the largest outstanding amount- a total of £6m. Meanwhile Invest NI, a secured creditor, is owed £2.5m.

The document can also tie Titanic Quarter developer Pat Doherty in for £1.2m.

The company owned the historic Herdmans Mill site in Sion Mills in County Tyrone. They hoped to redevelop the 60-acre site, which dominates the village of Sion Mills.

However, the collapse of the Irish property market led to the company experiencing cash flow difficulties. In the end, they could not meet pension payments owed to 100 or more former employees.

The subsequent move placed the company into receivership and ended more than 170 years of ownership of the site by the Herdman family.

The process of finding new owners for the 60-acre Herdmans site is ongoing but there is currently "no demand" for the site.

(LB/BMcC)