Laing O'Rourke In Legal Batlle With Irish Developer

Laing O’Rourke faces a potential winding-up order in the Irish courts following a dispute with Irish developer John Magnier.The dispute centres on a property development that Magnier and O'Rourke were planning in Marbella, Spain.

Explore Investments [No 2] is a division of Laing O’Rourke’s development arm Explore Investments and was set up by the UK’s third-largest contractor to jointly develop a 3.6ha site in Marbella

According to The Times newspaper, Magnier is considering demanding a “cease trade” order against his joint venture partner after the pair fell out over payments for the €25m (£22m) site.Magnier claims that Laing O'Rourke owes him half of the €25m (£22m) price paid for the site in December 2006, but the Irish contractor disputes this and has so far paid just €3m (£2.6m).

The plan was to develop the land, one of the few remaining plots boasting a beach frontage still to be developed, as part of a joint venture.