Séamus Ross

Developer Séamus Ross of Menolly has taken legal proceedings against Carlye Group, the global private equity group, over a building that Ross agreed to purchase from it in London.

A spokesman for Ross confirmed the case had been taken in relation to the £150m (€270m at then exchange rates) purchase of an office building at 107 Cheapside in the City of London. The High Court agreed on Friday to delay Ross's purchase of the building because there was a dispute over aspects of the completed building.

Ross claims the certificate of practical completion issued in February is invalid because a long list of defects, the equivalent of a snag list, had not been corrected.

The 183,000 square-foot building is mainly offices and has seven retail units. US legal firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (OHS) is to lease 75,000 square feet of the office space.

Ross also owns an adjoining building which he plans to redevelop when the tenant's lease expires.