Sir Robert McAlpine has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Scottish parliament for a £4.3m claim over alleged tendering breaches during the construction of Holyrood.

McAlpine claimed that European tendering rules had been broken, after Bovis Lend Lease submitted the highest tender but ended up winning the contract. However, after discussions held in the run-up to Christmas, McAlpine dropped its case for recovery of lost profits amounting to £4.3m, or 1% of the eventual building cost. Under the settlement, no money will change hands, and both sides will meet their own costs. Neither side admitted liability.