Court favours Kingspan

BUILDING materials group Kingspan moved closer to getting a $41 million (€34m) payout yesterday when an American court upheld a finding against the former owners of its American floor-making subsidiary.

The finding, by the US District Court in the north-eastern state of Pennsylvania, agreed with a decision by independent arbitrators last year that Kingspan was entitled to compensation. The arbitrators said key information was not passed on to Kingspan at the time it bought Tate for $120m (€98m) in early 2001.

Kingspan took a case for breach of contract and common law fraud against Tate's previous owners after the new business's performance failed to match expectations.