Why Pre-Construction Services Agreements are Becoming a Strategic Tool in Delivery

/ Contractual Issues

Blog Editor: James Rivers, Operations Health and Safety Director, Churngold Construction Pre-Construction Services Agreements (PCSAs) are no longer a niche procurement route reserved for complex projects; they are increasingly becoming a strategic tool for managing risk, cost and programme certainty in today’s construction environment. As development sites become more constrained, regulated and technically demanding, early contractor involvement is often the difference between a buildable scheme and one that struggles to progress. At its simplest, a PCSA is a formal agreement that appoints a contractor to…

Clauses to Help Avoid Conflict

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2024 Edition

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd, past JCT chair Conflict and disputes in construction are never far away. Although neither should arise in a perfect world, JCT provides for what appears inevitable, whilst seeking to avoid them. Since its inception, JCT has sought to minimise conflict and disputes by providing clear, fair contract provisions that assist administration and help reduce misunderstandings. Matters integral to conflict and dispute avoidance. JCT 2024 continues this objective, where the provisions ‘collaborative working’ and ‘notification and negotiation of disputes’, originally introduced as…

The JCT Design and Build Contract (2024 Edition) – A Year On

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2024 Edition

Blog Author: Seán Mac Labhraí Introduction We are now over a year since the JCT published the first of the 2024 suite of contracts: the Design and Build Contract, or DB24. Working for a main contractor specialising in design and build, we are now beginning to see a more widespread adoption of DB24 by employers / clients and their consultants, perhaps expedited by the JCT’s upcoming withdrawal of the 2016 editions. (I have been meaning to check with a solicitor who was still firmly wedded…

Procurement Act ‘Goes Live’ – A Summary Guide for the Construction Sector

/ Contractual Issues, Legislation

Blog Authors: Laura Reeve, Partner and Emily Moorcroft, Solicitor – Ashfords LLP After years of delay and anticipation, implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 finally ‘achieved practical completion’ on the 24 February 2025. The new Act is set to shake up the tendering and delivery of public sector construction projects, providing a revised blueprint for mapping out public sector procurements and promising a new era of transparency, efficiency and opportunity for the construction sector. Public sector employers, together with their appointed contractors and the wider…

Safety First for JCT

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2024 Edition

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd 2024 has seen the publication of the principal JCT 2024 contracts, with its other contracts to follow. It also saw the publication of the Grenfell Report Phase 2 on the 4th September, a report that highlights one of construction’s great disasters. Not that there is any direct link between these events but there is a common issue, that of adherence to contractual provisions and relevant statutory frameworks. The Phase 2 Report identifies that there were ‘organisations bound together by a web…

Supreme Court Overrules Parkwood: Collateral Warranties Are Not Construction Contracts

/ Contractual Issues, Legislation

Blog Authors: AIDAN STEENSMA; MATTHEW TAYLOR; CHRIS HALLAM; STEVEN WILLIAMS – CMS CAMERON MCKENNA NABARRO OLSWANG LLP In a decision issued in July, the Supreme Court has found that collateral warranties and other contracts which are merely derivative or reflective of primary building contracts do not fall within the Construction Act. In addition to overturning the Court of Appeal’s decision on this point, the judgment also overrules an earlier decision by the TCC in 2013 which had found collateral warranties to be capable of falling within…

The Terminator Conundrum: Navigating the Abyss – Variations On A Theme

/ Contractual Issues, JCT Povey Lecture

Blog Author: Simon Tolson – senior partner, Fenwick Elliott LLP Termination of a contract is a serious measure that should only be engaged in cases of fundamental breaches, after exhausting all possible preventive measures. When courts interpret termination clauses, they acknowledge the severe consequences, deeming it a draconian remedy that ends the contract with significant repercussions. Over time, legal principles have evolved to prevent accidental terminations. The process requires careful consideration and legal advice, it is often referred to by lawyers as the ‘nuclear option.’…

Retrofitting and Contractual Arrangements

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2016 Edition

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd This article is primarily concerned with the manner that retrofitting of buildings might impact on the procurement for its delivery, and whether adequate standard form contracts exist. Simply put, retrofitting of buildings is the introduction of new or modified parts or equipment not available at time of build. Contrast this with repair, which is only to restore something broken or damaged to a good condition or working order. Also, contrast it with renovation and renewal, which restores to a new or…

JCT Explains…Interim Payments

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2016 Edition

In this new feature for JCT News, we break down some of the key sections and clauses within the JCT contract to explain and provide more information about how these elements function in practice. The issue looks in more detail at the process of interim payments. Interim payments Generally, the provisions relating to valuation, certificates, notices and payment (interim and final) are the same or similar for many of the JCT main and sub-contracts. In this article, we refer to the JCT Standard Building Contract,…

Contracting for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

/ Contractual Issues

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd Views on MMC range from its adoption being the only proper solution for meeting building needs, to its being old hat, and only able to produce aesthetic mediocrity. Neither view is true; nor is it true that standard construction contracts per se are a barrier to adopting MMC. Our understanding of MMC is often confused, despite the MHCLG Joint Industry Working Group’s 2019 publication ‘Modern Methods of Construction’, which introduces its MMC definition framework. A definition that comprises seven categories and…