Shaylor Group entered a contract with Valescure Property in November 2017 to build 157 apartments in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham for an original sum of over £19m but entered administration mid-project in 2019.

The contract shown to the High Court confirmed that due to the early termination of the contract, Shaylor was only entitled to money covering the work it had already done — which Valescure initially valued at around £9.3m and was later recalculated and corrected to circa £8.1m, however the overpayment was not repaid.

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After Valescure went into liquidation in 2022, Shaylor took the case to the High Court, alleging that the adjudicator miscalculated the amount due because they misinterpreted certain provisions dealing with sums payable on termination where the contract terminates, as it did, before completion of the works. 

Shaylor claimed that the correct amount they were due was just under £20.3m — despite documents from the High Court confirming the works were “not close to being complete at this stage”. 

In the judgement handed down last week (4th April), Judge Justice Kerr dismissed Valescure’s claim for declaratory relief — adding that granting the declarations sought could “bestow an unlawful windfall on the claimant”.