Lloyds Developments Limited v Accor Hotel Services UK Limited (Costs) [2026] EWHC 1238 (TCC) Knowledge Check

This Knowledge Check concerns an application dealing with disclosure, additional security for costs and related costs. The court decided whether Lloyds Developments Limited should disclose tens of thousands of withheld document-family members, whether Accor Hotel Services UK Limited had succeeded on the composite application, and how the parties' conduct should affect costs.

The parties had agreed in 2023 that responsive document families would normally be produced together. After Lloyds changed solicitors and made further disclosure, many family members were withheld as irrelevant and represented by placeholders. Accor sought production of those documents alongside additional security, privilege review, trust-instrument and Cooperation Agreement relief. Mrs Justice Jefford refused the broad family-document request but treated Accor as successful on the security application.

The court applied proportionality and the overriding objective to disclosure, examined whether the security application had been necessary, and used percentage and item reductions when assessing costs. Lloyds was ordered to pay 75 per cent of the assessed costs after account was taken of Accor's exaggerated security demand and failure on the family-document issue.