Property Alliance Group, the developer behind the now completed Manchester Uptown scheme beside the river Irwell is seeking compensation after the concrete core and podium had to be demolished at the largest of the three planned clustered buildings because of concerns about the amount of rebar in the base.

Details of the case emerged at high court hearing where Arcadis Consulting UK was seeking further disclosure of documents from the developer relevant to the case.

This revealed that in June 2020, Arcadis identified a problem with its design of the podium slab.

At that time the slab had not been poured for the other two blocks A and B allowing the design was corrected. But the slab had already been poured for block C.

This required the remedial works to block C and design changes to blocks A and B.

It is agreed by both the developer and consultant that defects caused some delay to the project, but the extent of the delay is disputed.

Apart from damages for delay, Property Alliance Group’s Irwell Riverside Developments Ltd also claims the cost of remedial works, £3.67m for loss of sales, £1.8m for loss of a different development opportunity, and £4.9m for extended finance charges.

Arcadis is contesting the extent of the claim.

Judge Neil Moody KC allowed Arcadis’ request for further searches for documents.

The deal represents Aldar’s first acquisition beyond the MENA region with London identified as a “key and mature international market.”

Aldar said it “intends to leverage its expertise and balance sheet to support London Square’s land acquisition strategy to enable it to develop larger and prime central London sites.”

Aldar added: “By exporting its expertise to the UK market through the acquisition of an established and reputable operating platform, Aldar will gain a meaningful foothold in the diverse and dynamic London property market, known for its resilience and enduring appeal to both local and international investors.”

Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Aldar Properties said: “Our recently announced international expansion strategy centres on exploring opportunities to acquire or partner with established operating platforms in our target markets.

“The acquisition of London Square represents our first market entry outside of the region, and is a testament to the company’s management team, governance framework, and business model which has consistently delivered strong performance.

“The transaction, which is synergistic in nature, gives us the ability to leverage our mutual strengths, shared values, and common approach to homebuilding to scale London Square while bringing the best of Aldar to bear in the UK’s property market, as we continue to build our foothold outside of the region.”

Since its establishment in 2010, London Square has successfully created a development pipeline worth over £2bn and completed over 3,500 homes to date with a pipeline of 930 homes under construction worth £425m

Adam Lawrence, Founder and Chief Executive of London Square said: “This is an outstanding outcome for London Square. Aldar is an exemplary company with an unrivalled reputation and their strength and breadth of knowledge and experience will enable London Square to flourish and extend its presence across Greater London and the Southeast.

“Becoming part of Aldar is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the future of London Square. We look forward to playing a leading role in tackling the housing shortage by providing more much-needed homes in the capital and surrounding areas where there is a continuing lack of supply.”

The council picked the firm for the £80m rebuild scheme despite it being the only firm to tender for the redevelopment of the Channel View estate.

The council said it alerted over 20 firms on the Crown Commercial Services framework RM6088 to encourage strong competition for the project and also invited all contractors to an online presentation setting out the tender opportunity.

Despite these steps to increase participation, the council said only Wates tendered the project.

The redevelopment of Channel View will see the 214 existing homes demolished at the estate, including a 13-storey tower block, replaced with around 320 new homes.

The council has now appointed Wates as development partner to construct of phase one of the Channel View regeneration project, including 81 older person council flats over two blocks of up to 12 storeys in height with associated facilities and parking.

Wates will also carry out the design development, planning and construction of all future phases of the Channel View regeneration scheme consisting of around a further 240 mixed-tenure properties, improvements to the Marl park, a new footbridge.