Perpetual Corporate Trust Ltd atf the Ascendas Longbeach Trust No. 10 v Larapinta Project Pty Ltd atf the Kiora Trust [2026] NSWSC 204 concerned the proper construction of a development management agreement. The plaintiff asserted that the defendant was liable to pay the amount of $1,380,000 exclusive of GST, described in the agreement as a “Rent Guarantee”, and also certain leasing costs totalling in excess of $1.8m exclusive of GST. The defendant contended that its liability to pay the Rent Guarantee was limited to the sum of $50,000 because the development management agreement provided that the Rent Guarantee would be reduced to $50,000 if the defendant procured a “New Lease”, a term defined to mean a lease of the premises that met certain specified requirements. The Court held that on the proper construction of the development management agreement and in the events which happened, the defendant did in fact procure a New Lease with the effect that the Rent Guarantee was reduced to $50,000. The Court also held that the defendant was not liable for the relevant leasing expenses claimed by the plaintiff on the basis that, on the proper construction of the agreement, the defendant was only liable for expenses it had incurred.
David Rayment SC appeared with Andrew Hourigan, instructed by Peter Mustaca of United ACL Legal, for the defendant.