One Hyde Park Limited v Laing O'Rourke Construction South Limited [2026] EWHC 155 (TCC)

One Hyde Park, the Knightsbridge development completed in 2011, suffered pervasive corrosion of its chilled water pipework, with some lengths corroded to 87 per cent of their depth, together with failed butterfly valves, leaking soldered joints and a pantograph cradle that never worked properly. The freeholder's management company sued the contractor under the main contract and a 2010 collateral warranty. Shortly before trial the contractor's solicitors stated that it was entering liquidation and would take no further part.

Mrs Justice Jefford struck out the Defence under CPR 39.3 and required the claimant to prove its case at trial on written openings and unchallenged factual and expert evidence. Accepting the metallurgical evidence on causation and the quantum expert's assessments, the court gave judgment for 34,437,122.60 pounds for replacement of the chilled water pipework, 313,753 pounds for the butterfly valves, 179,392 pounds for the soldered joints and 215,957.44 pounds for the pantograph cradle.

The judgment shows how a TCC trial proceeds when a defendant enters insolvency on the eve of trial: the defence is struck out, yet the claimant must still prove breach, causation and loss, and the court scrutinises unchallenged expert evidence before accepting it. It also illustrates the value of a collateral warranty where the freehold has changed hands since practical completion.