Expert Witness Journal Issue 67 June/July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 108
Paragon Group Ltd
v FK Facades Ltd
by Claire Kilpatrick, Managing Associate at Stevens & Bolton LLP.
bene昀椀t in and to” the building contract.
The right to adjudicate can be assigned
with the construction contract…for now
It has long been established by the Housing Grants
Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the
Construction Act) that a party to a construction
contract can refer a dispute to adjudication at any
time. But what about in circumstances where the
original party has assigned the bene昀椀t of the contract
to someone else? Has the right to adjudicate been
assigned along with the other bene昀椀ts and rights
under the construction contract? This was recently
considered by the Technology and Construction
Court (TCC) in the case of Paragon Group Ltd v FK
Facades Ltd [2026] EWHC 78 (TCC)
The contract included an adjudication clause,
allowing either party to refer a dispute or
di昀昀erence to adjudication in accordance with
the Scheme under the Construction Act.
•
The contract also included a clause allowing the
Employer to assign or charge the bene昀椀t of the
contract at any time without the Contractor’s
consent (although the Contractor was unable
to assign without the Employer’s prior written
consent).
•
There were subsequently two assignments, the
昀椀rst in 2021 from ODI to OT Group Ltd (OTG)
and the second in 2024 from OTG to the Paragon
Group Ltd (Paragon). Both assignments were
noti昀椀ed to FK and included an assignment of
“all of [the employer’s] rights, title, interest and
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
•
The adjudicator awarded Paragon the sum of
£80,500 and directed that his fees of £17,787
should also be paid by FK. FK refused to pay
either sum on the basis that the adjudicator did
not have jurisdiction over the dispute. Paragon
issued enforcement proceedings in the TCC.
Neither party disputed that the assignment was
valid. The key point raised before the court was the
question of who can be a “party” to a construction
contract in the context of the assignment of the
contract and the wording of Part 1 of the Scheme for
Construction Contracts (the Scheme)?
On 17 October 2018 FK Facades Ltd (FK/the
Contractor) entered into an amended form of
JCT Minor Works Building Contract 2016 with
O昀케ce Depot Internation (UK) Limited (ODI/
the Employer) for some remediation works to
a roof installation at a commercial property in
Greater Manchester.
•
Paragon terminated the contract in April 2025
and in May 2025 noti昀椀ed FK that it was liable
for liquidated damages due to delays. This was
disputed by FK who referred the dispute to
adjudication.
Who is a “party” to a construction contract?
Background
•
•
The Scheme (which applied in this case by reference
in the contract, but which would otherwise have been
implied the absence of any compliant alternative)
refers at s.1(1) to “any party to a construction
contract”. FK argued that if the “party” in the
construction contract is de昀椀ned as ‘the employer’
or ‘the contractor’ and if the Scheme gives the
right to adjudicate to “any party to the construction
contract” then only the employer or the contractor
can refer a dispute to adjudication. Paragon argued
that the Scheme does not di昀昀erentiate between
the position of an original contracting party and
that of an assignee when referring to “a party to a
construction contract”.
The court con昀椀rmed that the right of adjudication
(whether by a direct provision in the contract, or
whether implied into the contract via the Scheme)
is contractual in nature and is therefore subject to
the general rules of contractual interpretation. The
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JUNE 2026
