Marcus Birch
Marcus Birch
Marcus Birch
Biography
Marcus is a Consultant in our Contentious Construction and Engineering practice group. He is experienced in arbitration, litigation and ADR, with a focus on Construction and Engineering disputes, including domestic and international litigation and arbitration. He has acted for a range of clients, from individuals to state bodies to listed companies, in a range of industries and sectors, including construction, energy, manufacturing, investment, and financial services.
Marcus’ domestic practice encompasses both high-value litigation in the TCC and the First-tier Tribunal, and adjudications under the Construction Act. In recent years he has developed a particular focus on building safety claims, usually acting for landlords or developers, managing litigation under the Building Safety Act, the Defective Premises Act and the Contribution Act, and appeared for a defendant in one of the landmark FTT cases concerning remediation contribution orders.
Marcus’s international work includes acting in international arbitrations arising out of major infrastructure projects, including airports and power stations, in cases administered by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the Abu Dhabi Commercial Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC). He has also represented clients in complex cross-border litigation and court applications in support of arbitration proceedings.
Marcus speaks fluent English, French and Spanish.
Admissions
-
England and Wales
Related Capabilities
-
Construction Disputes
-
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
-
Real Estate
Experience
UK Domestic
- Acting for a developer in adjudication of its professional negligence claim against a structural engineer arising out of the redevelopment of a fire station in central London.
- Acting for a developer in a series of adjudications against its construction manager relating to a development of luxury apartments in Central London, including a negligence claim in relation to the certification of a contractor account.
- Representing one of the UK’s largest landowners in an adjudication in relation to final account claims from an insolvent contractor on a retail fit-out development.
- Representing a UK property investor in pursuit of claims under the Building Safety Act and Defective Premises Act for recovery of costs in relation to the re-cladding and remediation of internal compartmentation defects in a mixed use development in Birmingham.
- Representing a UK developer in defending adjudication of a contractor’s claims for extensions of time and loss and/or expense arising from client-driven change on a London refurbishment and development of office premises.
- Representing a UK developer in court proceedings in the TCC (against a contractor and for contribution from a seller of the portfolio) in respect of recovery of costs of remediation of building safety defects in a portfolio of residential developments across England.
- Acting for a UK property developer in the successful defence of a high-profile claim in the First-Tier Tribunal for a remediation contribution order under the Building Safety Act: Grey GR v Edgewater (Stevenage) Ltd and others [2026] UKUT 18.
International
- Advising a leading South Korean engineering & construction firm in respect of its claim for adjustments to the EPC Contract Price against its Employer, arising from for the construction of a 150MW hydro-electic power plant in South Asia.
- Acting for a joint venture of Korean and Japanese contractors in a London-seated ICC arbitration of a claim by a Kuwaiti subcontractor arising out of an oil refinery upgrade as part of the Clean Fuel Project in Kuwait (English law).
- Acting for a major Turkish electrical contractor in an Abu Dhabi-seated arbitration of claims valued at over £100 million arising out of the construction of the Midfield Air Terminal in Abu Dhabi, and in related arbitral proceedings.
Related Insights
Insights
Apr 30, 2026
Apr 30, 2026
Protecting a performance bond: lessons from CR Construction UK v Barclays Bank plc
In this Insight, Marcus Birch considers the case of CR Construction (UK) Limited v Barclays Bank plc [2026] EWHC 202 (TCC) which concerned an unsuccessful application by a contractor for an injunction restraining the bank which issued its performance bond from paying out under a demand made by the employer.
Insights
Feb 10, 2026
Feb 10, 2026
Building Safety Act – remediation contribution orders - respondents’ appeal dismissed in Vista Tower
In Grey GR Limited Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage) and others, the Upper Tribunal has dismissed the respondents’ appeal against the First Tier Tribunal decision granting a remediation contribution order (“RCO”) under s124 Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA”) against 75 respondents.
Insights
Oct 22, 2025
Oct 22, 2025
Staying enforcement of an adjudicator's decision
A party holding a favourable adjudication decision can apply to the court for summary judgment to enforce it but, in very limited circumstances, the losing party can also seek a stay of enforcement, according to the principles set down in Wimbledon Construction Co 2000 Ltd v Vago [2005] EWHC 1086 (TCC). (For more information, see Practice note, Adjudication: challenging and staying enforcement of the adjudicator's decision.)
In this article, first published in PLC, Marcus Birch considers the decision in Providence Building Services Ltd v Hexagon Housing Association Ltd
Insights
Mar 11, 2025
Mar 11, 2025
Building Safety Act: new TCC case on building information orders
Section 130 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) allows the High Court to make building liability orders (BLO) if it considers it just and equitable to do so. Section 132 allows the court to make an information order to enable applicants to decide whether to apply for a BLO. In this Insight, Marcus Birch considers the recent TCC decision in BDW Trading Ltd v Ardmore Construction Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 434 (TCC), which provides guidance on the circumstances in which the court will entertain an application for an information order, and the types of information and documents which it will include in such an order.
Insights
Feb 12, 2025
Feb 12, 2025
Building Safety Act: application of the “just and equitable” test for remediation contribution orders
Section 124 of the Building Safety Act allows the First Tier Tribunal to make remediation contribution orders (“RCOs”) where it considers it “just and equitable” to do so. In this Insight, Marcus Birch considers the recent First Tier Tribunal decision in Grey GR Limited Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage) and others which provides long-awaited guidance on how the Tribunal will apply the “just and equitable” test in fire safety cases involving large numbers of respondents.
Insights
Jan 26, 2023
Jan 26, 2023
Building Safety Act 2022: changing the rules on the landlord and tenant relationship, Part 2 – qualifying lease certificates
In a previous blog, I explored one aspect of the statutory reallocation of risk for the costs of works to remedy building safety issues in the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). The focus of that blog was the new landlord’s certificate, designed as a tool for the landlord to communicate with leaseholders as to whether it is “responsible” for defects, or whether it meets the “contribution condition” in the BSA 2022. In this blog, I will focus on the second element of this new framework, the “qualifying lease certificate” or “leaseholder certificate”.
The relevant provisions of the BSA 2022 came into force on 28 June 2022, and the related regulations have been in force since 21 July 2022.
Insights
Nov 17, 2022
Nov 17, 2022
Building Safety Act 2022: changing the rules on the landlord and tenant relationship
The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) creates a whole new world of building safety regulation and litigation. A key legislative objective was to regulate and direct responsibility for the cost of works to remedy building safety issues, so that the risk of such costs could no longer be the subject of agreement between landlord and tenant, but would (in defined circumstances) be apportioned in advance, by law, to the landlord.
To support that statutory reallocation of risk, the BSA 2022 created a new procedural framework for the paperwork needed to identify which landlords must carry the remedial costs and which tenants benefit from the new rules. In this blog, I’ll focus on the new landlord’s certificate, setting out financial information about the landlord and its corporate group, which must be sent to all long leaseholders. The relevant provisionsof the BSA 2022 came into force on 28 June 2022, and the related Regulations have been in force since 20 July 2022.
Insights
Jul 14, 2022
Jul 14, 2022
Gama Aviation v MWWMMWM: the problem of contractual formalities and informal novation
The problem of what happens when parties do not act in accordance with contractual formalities is a hardy perennial in commercial disputes. Certain instances of the problem are peculiar to the construction industry, notably absent or inadequate notices of events giving rise to time and money, or absent or inadequate payment or pay less notices. Each of these has given rise to complex caselaw. Other instances are common to all commercial contexts. One is the practice of including a “no oral modification” clause in a contract, but then informally agreeing an amendment. This situation has proved sufficiently difficult to require a thorough review and restatement of the law by the Supreme Court in MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd v Rock Advertising Ltd.
The recent case of Gama Aviation v MWWMMWM shows the issues thrown up by an informal novation of an agreement that one side said prohibited such informal variation, and the other side said made no provision for it.
Awards
October 5, 2021
October 5, 2021
Legal 500 UK 2022