Specialists International
This Knowledge Check tests the court's treatment of interest and costs after related Part 7 adjudication enforcement and Part 8 construction proceedings. The court decided whether to retain the adjudicator's approach to interest or apply the contract, how the parties' divided success in the Part 8 proceedings affected costs, and which claimed costs were recoverable on summary assessment.
Laing O'Rourke Delivery Limited was the claimant and Shepperton Studios Limited was the defendant. Simon Lofthouse KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, dealt with written submissions following the hearing on 3 March 2026. The court applied contractual interest to a total sum of £3,838,392.77, assessed Laing O'Rourke's Part 7 costs, and made an issues-based order for the Part 8 costs.
The judgment applies the contractual interest provisions, refers to Pharos Offshore v Kenvor Morlift [2025] EWHC 2496, and uses CPR Practice Direction 44 paragraph 9.2(b) for summary assessment. Laing O'Rourke recovered £75,954.50 for Part 7, while each party recovered half of its assessed Part 8 costs.
- The choice between the adjudicator's interest approach and the contract
- The treatment of VAT when calculating contractual interest
- The total sum due and the relevant interest period
- The separate treatment of Part 7 and Part 8 costs
- The issues-based order for divided success in the Part 8 proceedings
- The basis for summary assessment
- The assessment of Laing O'Rourke's Part 7 and Part 8 costs
- The assessment of Shepperton Studios' Part 8 costs