{"id":518501,"date":"2025-04-14T12:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=518501"},"modified":"2025-04-17T12:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T11:09:11","slug":"parent-firms-pursued-in-councils-360m-grenfell-legal-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/legal\/parent-firms-pursued-in-councils-360m-grenfell-legal-claim-14-04-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Parent firms pursued in council’s \u00a3360m Grenfell legal claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is asking the High Court to hold parent companies of some Grenfell Tower contractors liable for part of a \u00a3360m legal claim for tragedy-related costs.<\/p>\n

The council has launched claims at the court against firms directly involved in the work, including Rydon, Arconic, Harley Facades, Artelia, Celotex, and CEP Architectural Facades.<\/p>\n

Legal documents seen by Construction News<\/em> show that it is also asking the court to issue Building Liability Orders (BLOs) which, if granted, would allow it to seek damages from some of these firms\u2019 parent companies.<\/p>\n

BLOs<\/a>, introduced via the Building Safety Act 2022, allow\u00a0courts to transfer liabilities for building safety defects from a subsidiary company to its associated or parent companies.<\/p>\n

The fire at the west London tower block in June 2017 led to the deaths of 72 people and injured more than 70 others.<\/p>\n

The council, which itself was criticised by last year\u2019s public inquiry into the tragedy, said last October it had spent \u201csignificant amounts of public money\u201d on supporting the bereaved, survivors and community affected by the fire.<\/p>\n

It said the costs included rehousing, financial assistance and subsequent payment of compensation.<\/p>\n

In a statement, RBKC said: \u201cWe have issued legal proceedings against a number of companies, in line with the council\u2019s ongoing commitment to ensure those parties pay a share of the costs incurred against the public purse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Grenfell refurbishment\u2019s main contractor, Rydon, was among those that came in for heavy criticism in the inquiry\u2019s final report last September<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four Rydon entities are listed as defendants in the new case: Rydon Maintenance and its parent Rydon Group Ltd (RGL), plus that firm\u2019s parent Rydon Holdings Ltd (RHL), along with Rydon Group Holdings Ltd (RHHL), which acquired RHL in 2018.<\/p>\n

The claim document in this case said that a BLO against the parent firms should be issued because \u201cRydon\u2019s profit (whether as a result of the works or otherwise) has been hived up to RGL, RHL and\/or RGHL\u201d.<\/p>\n

Defence documents have not yet been filed in any of the cases.<\/p>\n

Rydon\u2019s lawyers DAC Beachcroft declined to comment on the legal action. Rydon did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Another claim is against Arconic, for manufacturing and supplying components of the cladding system, including Reynobond PE, and the council is also pursuing a BLO against its parent company Howmet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core of Reynobond PE was a hydrocarbon and highly combustible. It should not have been used on Grenfell Tower and its presence on Grenfell Tower caused the uncontrollable spread of the fire and resulting losses,\u201d the legal documents\u00a0say.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowmet is, or was at all material times, associated with AAP SAS (Arconic).\u201d<\/p>\n

Arconic declined to comment on the case, but pointed to its statement following the inquiry in which it rejected any claim that it had sold an unsafe product.<\/p>\n

Another case is against the cost consultant on the project, Artelia Projects UK Ltd, and Appleyards, whose business transferred to Artelia, in relation to their role as employer’s agent on the project, the documents say.<\/p>\n

The council is also suing insulation supplier Celotex Ltd and seeking a BLO against its parent Saint-Gobain Construction Products.<\/p>\n

It said that Celotex \u201cmanufactured and\/or supplied polyisocyanurate insulation, which included a product called RS5000. RS5000 was used as the insulation in the vast majority of the rainscreen cladding system installed on Grenfell Tower.<\/p>\n

\u201cRS5000 was combustible and one of the causes of the uncontrollable spread of the fire. Further, Saint-Gobain is, or was at all material times, associated with Celotex.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has also filed claims against CEP Architectural Facades for its manufacture of Reynobond Cassette Panels and Harley Facades, which was retained as the cladding subcontractor, the filings say.<\/p>\n

None of the other firms, or their lawyers, responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Helen Waddell, construction disputes partner at law firm Osborne Clarke, which is not involved in the cases, said: \u201cWe expect the whole process to take many years; it needs to be fair and the requisite burden of proof must be met.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe may well see more cases brought across the supply chain industry-wide. There are a large number of standstills and stayed proceedings in place waiting to see what happens in relation to the parties involved in Grenfell.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is asking the High Court to hold parent companies of some Grenfell Tower contractors liable for part of a \u00a3360m legal claim for tragedy-related costs. The council has launched claims at the court against firms directly involved in the work, including Rydon, Arconic, Harley Facades, Artelia, Celotex, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29901,"featured_media":517530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[79552,578],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n