Conran claims £10m victory over hotel
DESIGN supremo Sir Terence Conran's company today declared a £10m High Court victory against John Laing's old construction arm in the long-running battle over his landmark Great Eastern Hotel.
The City hotel, jointly owned by Conran Holdings and US hotelier Wyndham International, successfully sued for negligence over Laing's management of the £61m refurbishment, which finished a year late in 2000.
The contract, which started in 1997, was completed a year late in 2000 by John Laing Construction Ltd. This was a former wholly owned subsidiary of John Laing Plc, for which the group retained financial responsibility following the sale of Laing Construction to O'Rourke plc in 2001.
Today the hotel won £8.9m-damages plus costs and interest to be decided. Conran expects the total to be some £10m.
Conran chief executive Des Gunewardena said: 'Laing did a lousy job, conducted a cynical legal defence and got what they deserved.' The court judged Laing 'deliberately' hid its mistakes from the hotel. Laing sold its construction arm for £1 after losses on projects including Cardiff 's Millennium Stadium.
