Office space provider Citib@se plc is suing City solicitor Memery Crystal for damages for negligence in a £4m claim.
The dispute centres around the wording of a 10-year underlease of office premises in Gillingham Street, London SW1, taken out by Citib@se in 1996 at a rent of £370,000 pa.
A writ issued at London’s High Court, and just made publicly available, says that when the freehold of the offices changed hands in 1997, Citib@se discovered that new owner, Point Ventures, was contemplating ending the 10-year underlease to demolish or rebuild the premises.
Point Venture subsequently served a notice terminating the underlease in order to demolish or rebuild the offices. However, it is alleged that, since taking over the property, Point Ventures has not demolished or rebuilt the premises, and instead has used the offices to provide the serviced office accommodation business set up by Citib@se.
Citib@se now claims that Memery Crystal was negligent in failing to notice that the landlord could end the underlease and carry on the business created by Citib@se, or that there was a substantial risk of that happening.
Citb@se says that if it had been properly advised, it would have instructed Memery Crystal to renegotiate amendments to the underlease.
It is alleged that Citib@se has suffered loss of the profit amounting to £4,272,549.
PLS News 3/5/02
