Owners of Britain’s most expensive flats face ten years of disruptive repairs after winning court case

Residents of One Hyde Park, the country’s most expensive block of flats, are facing a decade of disruptive repairs despite winning a £35m High Court case over widespread defects in the luxury development.

The Knightsbridge complex, home to billionaires, celebrities and oligarchs, was found to have badly corroded chilled‑water pipework and other serious failures just years after completion, prompting owners to sue a subsidiary of construction company Laing O’Rourke – Laing O'Rourke Construction South Ltd.

One Hyde Park was developed by brothers Christian and Nick Candy in partnership with Qatari businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al‑Thani. One apartment in the complex is currently on the market for £175m.

Judge Nerys Jefford ruled that Laing O’Rourke must pay £35.1m to cover the cost of replacing the faulty pipework and remedying additional defects, describing the contractor’s conduct as “commercially amoral” after it placed the subsidiary into liquidation shortly before the trial and failed to attend proceedings.

open image in gallery

She found that One Hyde Park’s chilled‑water pipework had corroded because Laing O’Rourke failed to install insulation correctly, ruling the contractor in breach of contract and liable for repair costs.

Judge Jefford also sided with the residents on the remaining elements of the claim, including other plumbing problems – a result a spokesperson for One Hyde Park described as “a decisive victory for all the residents”.

Experts told the court that the remedial work, which requires ceilings to be removed in occupied flats, could take more than a decade to complete, forcing residents to move out floor by floor and lose access to amenities including the private cinema, spa and 21‑metre “ozone” pool.

The development, a short walk from Harrods, has attracted some of the world’s wealthiest buyers, Kylie Minogue owned a £116m 3-bed flat in the building until the Covid-19 pandemic, and current owners of flats include Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and the building's developer Nick Candy, whose £175m penthouse has been on the market for five years.

Buyers of the luxury apartments have been plagued by years of water leaks and pipe corrosion, with problems first identified in 2014, just three years after the 84‑flat complex opened.

open image in gallery

According to the court documents, “extensive investigations of the pipework” revealed that it “is subject to pervasive and very serious corrosion, with some lengths of pipework being corroded to a depth of 87 per cent”.

Despite the court’s ruling, it remains unclear whether residents will ever recover the awarded sum, given the subsidiary’s liquidation.

Laing O’Rourke said it had spent nearly a decade seeking an “amicable resolution”, including offers of compensation and free remedial work.

A spokesperson for One Hyde Park said: “We are committed to ensuring Laing O'Rourke is held fully accountable and makes full and fair payment for the construction defects it has been found responsible for.”