Montpellier Estates files claim for deceit against Leeds City Council

Property investor and developer Montpellier Estates has filed a High Court claim against Leeds City Council for deceit in the procurement process for a £75m arena in the city. The new claim follows a court victory for Montpellier in June, when Eady J refused to strike out any part of the developer’s case against the council for breach of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 by terminating a public tender for the 12,500-seat arena in favour of developing the scheme itself. The council alleges that it abandoned the private sector development proposals because a public sector-controlled scheme would be worth more to the local economy. Jan Fletcher OBE, chairman of Montpellier Estates, said: “I am deeply saddened at the need to file this deceit case. No one is more passionate about Leeds than I am. I have spent two years trying to work with Leeds City Council to find a solution to this claim, but we have now exhausted all options. “The government is relying on the private sector to pull this country out of the recession and to play an active part in our city regions. That will happen only if the business community has absolute confidence in any public procurement process, knowing that it will be carried out strictly under European procurement law, and is able to weigh up the genuine risks involved,” she said. A council spokesman said: “We consider this to be an entirely desperate and vexatious claim.” Construction work is due to start on the arena scheme early next year.