Multiplex says Mott MacDonald owes it £253m for Wembley

Australian contractor Multiplex is looking to claim over £253m from Mott MacDonald, the structural engineer on Wembley Stadium. The original budget to build the stadium was £445m.

Having got its hands on a letter sent from Multiplex to Mott MacDonald in October, Construction News made this its lead story, quoting extensively from the letter. One excerpt reads: 'The initial designs were not correct, constructible, co-ordinated and/or consistent. The services throughout the project were unsatisfactory'. Multiplex is claiming there were at least 11,000 changes to the engineer's original design, with 141 of 155 steelwork drawings being substantially amended.

Mott MacDonald responded in a statement that it had 'performed its contractual obligations to Multiplex in a professional and diligent manner'. And added 'The figures mentioned by Multiplex are not credible. They are also irrelevant. We will demonstrate that Mott Stadium Consortium has no liability for any loss Multiplex may have incurred.'

Construction News reports that the pre-action protocol letter of claim gave Mott MacDonald three months to respond but that the structural engineer has asked for more time and will respond in spring.

Meanwhile, Building's lead story was the resetting of industry targets by the Strategic Forum. The forum has replaced Sir John Egan's six targets from his 1998 'Rethinking Construction' report with six new targets which will be based on the Olympic construction commitments and which firms will sign up to.

For Contract Journal, the top story was how scores of ex-Alfred McAlpine managers are wrangling with new employer Carillion over the terms of their exit deals.