Wembley damages trial: first round to Cleveland Bridge

Wembley steel contractor Cleveland Bridge has won the first round of its damages trial against Multiplex.

In a High Court verdict this week, Judge Jackson ruled that CBUK should not be held liable for the cost of temporary roof works on the project. The works were carried out by replacement steel contractor Hollandia after CBUK walked off the scheme in August 2004.

The verdict comes days after Multiplex revealed it had been approached as a potential takeover target by a mystery buyer. Analysts this week said that the approach was likely to have come from a private equity firm, with any sale potentially involving a buyout of the Multiplex construction business by founders the Roberts family.

The ruling reduces the size of Multiplex’s damages claim against CBUK by about £15m. However, CBUK’s liability for damages has always been capped at £6m, and it is still open to claims higher than this amount. Multiplex will also claim additional sums related to the revaluation of CBUK’s works.

Judge Jackson said: “It may be said that this is a highly successful outcome for Cleveland Bridge, which has successfully offloaded costs to Multiplex.”