London’s Luxury One Hyde Park Wins UK Lawsuit Over $48M Repair Bill

The manager of London’s One Hyde Park apartment block, one of the world’s most expensive addresses, on Monday won its lawsuit against a British construction giant for just over 35 million pounds ($48 million) in pipework repairs.

In the affluent Knightsbridge district, One Hyde Park was developed by British brothers Christian and Nick Candy with Qatari businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani. One apartment in the block is currently on sale for 175 million pounds.

Lawyers representing One Hyde Park Limited, which owns the freehold, said pipework in the properties became corroded because it was not properly installed.

The apartment complex was designed and constructed by a subsidiary of Laing O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke Construction South Limited, and completed in 2011.

Laing O’Rourke Construction South Limited denied that the pipework was in disrepair, but did not send representatives to defend the case at a hearing last year.

A Laing O’Rourke spokesperson said it was aware its subsidiary “spent almost a decade trying to find an amicable resolution to the issue … including an offer to undertake remedial work for free.”

One Hyde Park sued at London’s High Court to cover the cost of removing and replacing the majority of the pipework, which would require tenants to move out in stages while the work is carried out.

Judge Nerys Jefford ruled that the pipework – which comprised 34.4 million pounds of the claim’s value – had corroded because Laing O’Rourke failed to properly install insulation, meaning it was in breach of contract and liable for remedial works.

She also ruled in One Hyde Park’s favor on the rest of its lawsuit, which a spokesperson for One Hyde Park described as “a decisive victory for all the residents at One Hyde Park.”

“We are committed to ensuring Laing O’Rourke is held fully accountable and makes full and fair payment for the construction defects it has been found responsible for,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Laing O’Rourke referred queries about Monday’s ruling to the liquidators of Laing O’Rourke Construction South, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 0.7295 pounds)

(Reporting by Tobin; Editing by Alison Williams and Toby Chopra)