Lord sues for£1m over property makeover

Owner of west London home claims designer delivered an ‘exceptionally poor performance’

AN aristocrat is embroiled in a High Court battle with an interior designer once employed by the Royal family over a £4million refurbishment of his London town house, it emerged yesterday.

Lord James Russell, whose late father Robin was the 14th Duke of Bedford, has accused designer Lucinda Sanford of “exceptionally poor performance” after hiring her to revamp his Notting Hill property.

He is suing her firm, Lucinda Sanford Ltd (LSL), amid claims that the renovation spiralled £1 million over budget and overran by more than a year.

However, the design firm has filed a counter claim against him and his wife Lady Dawn Russell, claiming they dithered over key decisions and unhelpfully micromanaged the renovation. Ms Sanford, right, said her firm was approached by Lord and Lady Russell, left, to carry out a makeover at their home during the summer of 2015. According to court documents, following an agreement to carry out the revamp, Lord Russell insisted on “deciding on every matter of layout and design, no matter how minor”.

The court heard Lord and Lady Russell “had not voiced any major concerns” over the standard, quality, or time frame of the works and had even recommended the firm to Lord Russell’s mother, the Duchess of Bedford.

But by October 2017 there had been a “marked” change in attitude, the hearing was told.

Documents revealed Lord Russell stopped paying invoices before ending the contract in March 2018, claiming he and his wife had become exasperated by

LSL and Ms Sanford’s “exceptionally poor performance”.

William Webb, a barrister representing Lord Russell, wrote: “The works had taken over twice as long as they should have taken. Seeking a stable home environment for their children, Lord and Lady Russell moved in during October 2017, despite major elements being incomplete.”

The couple claimed their son was found with an open bleach bottle while “open Stanley knife blades” were allegedly left lying around the property. They also said the town house was “vulnerable to intruders” when workers left doors and windows open, according to court documents.

Hitting back, LSL denies the allegations and maintains that Lord and Lady Russell failed to control their children who they claimed entered construction areas and fired toy Nerf guns at builders.

Isabel Hitching QC, representing LSL, said workers were given contradictory views by the couple, while Lady Russell sometimes “changed her mind” once jobs had been completed.

The firm is seeking £863,436 in unpaid fees while Lord Russell is seeking to recover more than £1 million he paid towards the refurbishment as well as £376,731 in damages. The case is set to continue.

According to Ms Sanford’s Linkedin page, the designer was employed by the Royal household two years before she started her design firm.