The claim is over a losses on a retail-led scheme in Newbury

Bachy Soletanche has launched a £1.5m claim against Costain to recover losses incurred on the site of the £80m retail-led scheme in Newbury.

It alleges the piling platform, prepared by Costain, failed causing a 100-tonne rig to topple over. According to court papers, the incident took place on 15 January 2009. Costain was unavailable for comment.