CPC Group Wins Chelsea Barracks Trial That Featured Prince Charles E-Mails - Bloomberg

U.K. developer CPC Group Ltd. won a trial in which it sought 81 million pounds ($120.5 million) from the real-estate investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund over a botched deal to build luxury apartments in London.

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. must pay CPC, controlled by real-estate entrepreneur Christian Candy, for breaching an agreement to develop the landmark Chelsea Barracks site, Judge Geoffrey Vos ruled today in London. The court will award damages or costs at a later hearing, he said.

Vos backed CPC’s claim that the site plan application was wrongfully withdrawn in June 2009 because the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, wanted to avoid upsetting Prince Charles, who complained about the site’s modern design. The judge disagreed that Qatari Diar acted in bad faith.