Lawsuit against City grandee Sir Stuart Lipton over 22 Bishopsgate is dropped
A lawsuit filed against City grandee Sir Stuart Lipton over the development of 22 Bishopsgate has been dropped after a judge described the case against him as “wholly misleading.”
Former business partner Hamid Alqumairi claimed he was key in fixing the deal to build one of London’s tallest skyscrapers and was owed £11 million in fees for his role.
The building was completed in December 2022 for £1bn after years of delay partly due to the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Alqumairi claimed he was pivotal in securing the project when Lipton and AXA purchased the site in 2015 from a Saudi consortium.
But Sir Stuart Lipton, through his property firm Lipton Rogers Developments (LRD), told Morning Wire the claim has now been dropped and Alqumairi has been ordered to pay Lipton’s legal costs.
“Their ill-conceived attempts to litigate are now over,” LRD said in a statement.
LRD said the judge said that Alqumairi’s statement announcing the lawsuit in February, was “wholly misleading” and “improper.”
Alqumairi has been ordered to pay £175,438.66 to LRD.
Alqumairi told Morning Wire, however: “My claim has not failed on its merits, but pursuing it required substantial upfront costs for security.”
“Despite this disappointing outcome it remains the case that I was instrumental in 22 Bishopsgate’s development,” he added.