Ex-Citibank exec sues builders who ‘botched’ dream home for £3million

A high flying investment banker and her husband are suing a construction company for more than £3million – claiming their dream home was built so poorly it must be demolished.

Lisa Klaver, who used to advise the ultra-rich in Singapore, and her husband Tim are taking North Downs Construction to London’s High Court claiming their brand new house is so riddled with issues it is uninhabitable.

The builders had agreed to construct the couple’s sprawling property near Farnham, adjacent to an existing property, which was set to be knocked down once the other home was completed.

But the wealthy couple have accused the firm of negligence, finding 69 defects and claiming it has not been built to proper standards.

Problems in the home included issues with the timber cladding, the terrace, balcony, and lower ground floor roof, external walls, windows and doors, basement tanking, internal and external work, and structural steelwork.

The heartbroken couple have now been left in limbo as without a housing guarantee they have been unable to get a mortgage – or sell the property.

Other contractors have said they will not be able to warrant the complete construction of the home unless it is completely demolished first, according to the claim submitted to court.

Knocking the house down and starting over is estimated to cost the couple £3.4million.

Reducing costs slightly, the builders would be able to keep the foundations of the building and the lower ground floor at a cost of £2.9million – but Mr and Mrs Klaver do not think option is possible.

It has led Mrs Klaver, 44, founder of Lightbox Wealth and Lightbox Wealth Consulting, and her husband to take NHQ Ltd, trading as North Downs Construction Company, to court.

They are suing the Guilford-based firm for damages of more than £3million – as well as damages for distress, inconvenience and loss of amenity.

North Downs Construction had begun working on the project in July 2021, with the couple moving to the property a year later.

It was only after they moved in May 2022, that their architect noticed defects and upon further investigation, dozens more were been found, it is claimed.

At this point, the couple had already paid £836,000 towards the builder’s bill.

The architect began by asking the builders to fix a defect in the exterior timber cladding, which did not conform to the contract or good building practice.

Other issues were then raised in various other reports with the Klavers asking for them to be fixed.

It led them to withholding a payment of the July 2022 invoice, High Court documents said.

North Down Construction’s Vernon Blake said that without payment, the firm would withdraw from the site immediately, and did so. No other work has taken place since then.

Mr and Mrs Klaver say the builders failed to take adequate remedial action, and as a result they terminated the contract in April 2024.

The couple insist the firm was responsible for the works until the contract was terminated, especially for ensuring the completed works were safe and watertight.

They add that the builders did not finish the job within the agreed 50 weeks, or ask for a time extension.

Rain and flood water got into the house in October and November 2022 and while the firm later admitted some of the defects, and provided proposals for putting them right, it failed to address many more including more serious ones in the structural steelwork, the claim says.

Mr and Mrs Klaver claim it is not for them to re-design the new house so that the defective work can be remedied.

They added North Downs Construction has refused to meet any of the costs of doing so.

Mrs Klaver, who seemed emotional about the ongoing case when approached by the Daily Mail, used to work for Citi Private Bank, the private arm of Citibank.

At one time she headed the team advising on ultra-high net worth investment in Singapore, before becoming managing director and global head of platform innovation program for the bank.

In May 2024, she set up her own firm helped by husband Tim. Mr and Mrs Klaver declined to comment.

The building firm North Downs Construction were also approached for comment. It is understood that they will defend the claim.