ISG’s administrators have settled an £8m claim out of court against an architecture firm over delays to a project completed in 2022.
W Griffiths Architects was accused of failing to properly carry out its obligations as an architectural consultant on the Watford High Street build.
The project, for housing association Home Group, involved the construction of two apartment blocks consisting of 56 flats above a ground-floor retail unit, and was built with a timber frame.
Overall, work was delayed by three-and-a-half years, with ISG alleging that just over two years of the delay was caused by W Griffiths breaching its subconsultancy agreement and/or negligence, mostly in relation to fire-safety issues.
ISG lodged the case at the Technology and Construction Court in London in 2022
Following the contractor’s collapse in September 2024, the case has been continued by its administrators at EY
Now, a Tomlin order – under which a court action is paused to allow parties to settle complex disputes – has been made.
Details of the settlement are not known and are private between the parties.
“All further proceedings in this action shall be stayed on the terms set out in the confidential settlement agreement between those parties dated 25 February 2026,” Mr Justice Constable said.
The judge did not award any costs.
EY declined to comment. W Griffiths has not responded to a request for comment.
Papers previously filed with the court said work on the project had started in 2014 but ran into significant issues in 2018 and 2019 after concerns were identified over work carried out by subcontractor Grays Dry Lining.
A remediation plan was put in place, but the subcontractor went into administration in 2021 before it could do the work.
According to a claim lodged by ISG prior to its administration, seen by Construction News, an adjudicator found in February 2022 that W Griffiths breached its subconsultancy agreement on issues including failing to provide a fire strategy, and the specification of the plasterboard and drylining.
According to ISG, the adjudicator also found W Griffiths had failed to provide adequate detailing for drylining and fireboard, and did not specify fire barriers were in correct locations or that fire escapes met minimum width requirements.
W Griffiths had disputed that the adjudication outcome was as the contractor described.
In its defence, W Griffiths rejected the accusations, denying it was responsible for any of the delays and issued a counterclaim for £202,345 plus VAT for extra hours worked on the project that it said were the fault of ISG.
It added that ISG failed to properly manage the project as it was meant to and claimed the legal action was a “cynical attempt” by ISG to recoup its losses made on the project.
A number of legal issues involving ISG are ongoing. Last week, Construction News reported that legal disputes, thought to be with ISG, had cost the collapsed FK Group £3m in legal fees prior to the latter’s demise, according to the envelope specialist’s administrators.