"After two years of stonewalling from the developer, Sterling & Vale recovered every pound the new-build owed us — plus our legal costs. The team is calm, surgical, and absolutely relentless."
Margaret Whitfield
Surrey · New-build defects
£312,000
Outcomes
Real disputes. Real recoveries. Real people.
Names and locations published with client consent. Recovery figures verified against settlement deeds and court orders.
"Our extension was leaking within three months. The builder ghosted us. Eleanor took our case on a fixed fee, instructed an independent surveyor, and had our money back within four months."
James & Helena Coombe
Bristol · Defective extension
£86,400
"A complex sub-contractor dispute that two other firms told us was unwinnable. The TCC adjudication strategy that Marcus designed paid off. We recovered the full disputed sum and costs."
Northern Estates Ltd
Manchester · Commercial fit-out dispute
£1.2M
"Sterling & Vale secured a Remediation Contribution Order against the developer's parent company. Without it, our 84-flat block would have been bankrupt. Genuinely life-changing work."
Resident Management Co.
Croydon · Cladding remediation
£4.8M (RCO)
"I thought we'd never see the deposit again. The contractor left a half-built loft with structural issues. Priya took the case, instructed a structural engineer, and recovered our full losses."
David Asante
Birmingham · Loft conversion gone wrong
£42,000
"Eleven properties, four contractors, three warranty providers. Sterling & Vale untangled it all and pursued every viable defendant in parallel. Outstanding strategic thinking."
The Holloway Family Trust
Edinburgh portfolio · Multi-property warranty claim
£680,000
"The contractor had won an adjudication against us improperly. Sterling & Vale challenged enforcement on jurisdictional grounds and the High Court agreed. Costs awarded in our favour."
Yusuf Patel
Leicester · Adjudication enforcement
£124,000
"We had to terminate mid-project. The contractor counter-claimed for £3.4M. Sterling & Vale defeated their claim entirely and recovered our completion costs. Three years of work and not a wasted day."
Apex Commercial LLP
London E1 · JCT D&B termination
£2.1M
Featured case studies
Three matters, three outcomes.
01
The £312,000 New-Build
Problem
A premium developer delivered a six-bedroom Surrey home with cracked render, failing damp-proofing, and a leaking flat roof — then refused to engage with the snagging list. Their stance: 'within tolerance.'
Action
We commissioned an independent chartered surveyor and a damp specialist. The reports established 47 defects, 12 of them serious. We issued under the Defective Premises Act 1972 and threatened TCC proceedings.
Outcome
Settled at mediation for £312,000 plus legal costs — covering full remediation by the family's chosen contractor. Time from instruction to settlement: 7 months.
02
The £4.8M Cladding RCO
Problem
An 84-flat residential block in Croydon required £4.8M of cladding and fire-safety remediation following a Building Safety Act inspection. The original developer had been dissolved.
Action
We pursued a Remediation Contribution Order under section 124 BSA 2022 against the developer's surviving parent company, joining two associated entities under the 'associated' provisions of section 121.
Outcome
Tribunal granted the RCO in full. Parent company paid the £4.8M into a remediation account. Leaseholders avoided any liability for historic defects.
03
The £2.1M JCT Defence
Problem
An East London developer was forced to terminate a JCT D&B contract for repeated material breaches. The contractor immediately counter-claimed £3.4M alleging wrongful termination.
Action
We deployed a parallel strategy: defending the counterclaim through TCC pleadings while simultaneously adjudicating to recover completion costs. Independent QS evidence quantified the contractor's true defaults at over £2M.
Outcome
Counterclaim defeated entirely at trial. Adjudication recovered £2.1M in completion costs. Total exposure avoided: £5.5M.