Flat owners at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge are facing a decade-long refurbishment programme to address persistent leaking pipework throughout the building.
The ultra-luxury development was completed in 2011 by Laing O’Rourke Construction South.
In 2021, the One Hyde Park (OHP) freeholders brought legal action against the contractor after years of failed discussions over construction defects first identified in 2014.
Laing O’Rourke Construction South entered voluntary liquidation in February 2025, and the case proceeded to a hearing without any defence from the company, leading to a ruling in its absence.
Mrs Justice Jefford accepted submissions from OHP barrister Andrew Rigney, who described Laing O’Rourke’s decision to withdraw from the trial as “commercially amoral.”
The judgement added: “There was no evidence before the Court of any financial difficulty of Laing O’Rourke plc or the group as a whole. Mr Rigney submitted that the only credible reason for the group withdrawing support from the defendant was that it had formed the view that OHP was likely to succeed and obtain a substantial award of damages and that Laing O’Rourke plc, in my words not his, had decided to pull the plug on the defendant rather than honour its contractual obligations.”
English 