Hotel company sues builders for £18m

The Great Eastern Hotel Company, owned by Sir Terence Conran and US hotel company Wyndham International, is suing the company which renovated the building for more than £18m.

In a High Court writ, the Great Eastern blames John Laing Construction for "chaos" at the site which led to a delay of almost a year in finishing the project.

The project went wrong from day one, says the writ, because John Laing made mistakes in the erection of a temporary roof.

Problems during the renovation of the Liverpool Street hotel pushed costs up from £34m to more than £60m and caused a 50-week delay.

It has put a claim in to John Laing Construction and its guarantor Laing Construction for damages for breach of contract totalling £18,566,000 plus interest.

Source: Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine, 6-12 February 2003