Victory for West Ham – High Court orders Stadium to repay £3.6m after setting aside an expert determination for manifest error

WH Holding Ltd v E20 Stadium LLP [2025] EWHC 140 (Comm)

In a recent decision, the High Court has ordered E20, the owner of West Ham United’s London Stadium, to reimburse West Ham United’s parent company by setting aside an expert determination which required the Premier League Club to pay E20 £3.6m. In doing so the court clarified what is meant by the term ‘manifest error’ and when it would be applicable to a decision made by an expert. The decision also illustrates the care which must be taken in drafting the Expert Agreement especially with regard to the circumstances, if any, in which the expert’s decision can be challenged. 

Expert determination

Expert determination is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that is often used to settle disputes of a technical nature. Contractual parties may include an expert determination provision in their agreement requiring them to jointly instruct an independent expert to resolve certain types of dispute. Often these are disputes where either a form of valuation or specialist’s opinion is required, rather than an analysis of the law. Expert determination is often used in disputes concerning complex technology, energy and construction projects. Parties appreciate the ability to select an expert with specific industry knowledge and like that the process is often much shorter than arbitration or litigation. An expert’s determination is subject to much more limited control by the courts which is why successful challenges, such as in this case, are rare.

Background

In 2013, WH Holdings Limited (“WHH”) and E20 Stadium LLP (“E20”) entered into a Concession Agreement by which E20 granted WHH a 99-year concession that permitted WHH to run events at the Queen Elizabeth Park Stadium and for West Ham United Football Club (“WHUFC”) to use as its home ground. The Concession Agreement contained a provision which entitled E20 to share in…