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Blue Manchester Ltd v North West Ground Rents Ltd [2019] EWHC 142 (TCC)

In Blue Manchester Ltd v North West Ground Rents Ltd [2019] EWHC 142 (TCC) Edward Hicks, led by Paul Darling KC, acted as junior counsel for the successful claimant, which is the tenant and owner of the Hilton Hotel in the iconic Beetham Tower in Manchester. In 2014 it was discovered that the bond between the glass and frames in elements in the curtain wall were failing. A temporary fix using “stitch plates” was implemented to hold the glass in place on 1,350 units. Progress in implementing a permanent fix was slow, and hampered by the liquidation of Carillion, the main contractor.

You can read the full judgement here.

You can read some press coverage here and here.

 

The claimant successfully sued the defendant landlord under the repairing covenant in the hotel lease, HHJ Stephen Davies finding that the temporary fix was not sufficient to discharge the landlord’s repairing obligations and a permanent fix that respected the aesthetics and design intent of the original construction was required. The landlord was also found liable in connection with a loss of water pressure within the hotel and the discharge of “brown sludge” from taps within the hotel which was reported in the national press in January 2017. Damages are to be assessed.

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