Bellshill Property Limited against (First) Borland Insurance Limited, (Second) Tradebe Healthcare National Limited and (Third) Grupo Tradebe Medioambiente SL
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Court | Court of Session |
| Judge | Lord Sandison |
| Judgment Date | 29 July 2026 |
| Neutral Citation | [2026] CSOH 70 |
| Date | 29 July 2026 |
| Published date | 29 July 2026 |
| Docket Number | OUTER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION |
PLEASE NOTE: THIS OPINION SUPERSEDES THE OPINION
ISSUED ON 29 JULY 2026
[2026] CSOH 70
OUTER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION
[2026] CSOH 71
CA23/25
OPINION OF LORD SANDISON
In the cause
BELLSHILL PROPERTY LIMITED
Pursuer
against
(FIRST) BORLAND INSURANCE LIMITED; (SECOND) TRADEBE HEALTHCARE
NATIONAL LIMITED; and (THIRD) GRUPO TRADEBE MEDIOAMBIENTE SL
Defenders
Pursuer: McBrearty KC, Roxburgh; CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswan g LLP
First Defender: McClelland KC; Brodies LLP
Second and Third Defenders: Barne KC; BTO Solicitors LLP
29 July 2026
Introduction
[1] The pursuer in this commercial action seeks payment from the defenders jointly and
severally, or severally, of the sum of £5,256.904.11 in respect of losses arising from the total
destruction by fire in July 2021 of a large warehouse-type unit extending to about
3,000 square metres with an 800 square metre mezzanine floor owned by it at Inchinnan
Road, Bellshill Industrial Estate. The first defender is an insurance broker which arranged
the pursuer’s insurance cover for the unit. The second defender was, at the time of the fire,
2
the tenant of the unit and used it for the purpose of processing clinical waste. An activity
being carried out in the course of that processing caused the fire which destroyed the unit.
The third defender guaranteed the second defender’s obligations under the lease. The
second and third defenders maintain that the pursuer’s case against them is irrelevant, and
that matter came before me for discussion at debate.
Background
[2] In terms of the lease between the pursuer and the second defender, the former was
obliged fully to insure the unit against various risks, including fire, and the second defender
was obliged to pay the premium for that insurance cover. Through its property agents, the
pursuer instructed the first defender, an insurance broker, to arrange the necessary cover.
A policy which was thought to insure the unit against the relevant risks was obtained from a
Luxembourg insurance company called Builders Direct SA, with cover supposedly
commencing on 7 December 2020 for the period of a year. However, that cover was subject
to a stipulation that there were no composite or sandwich panels at the unit, and in fact the
unit’s previous use as a cold store had resulted in it being fitted with composite insulation
panels which spanned virtually the full height of its internal walls, and its ceiling. The
policy’s coverage for fire was, further, subject to a condition that the electrical systems at the
unit be inspected within 2 months of the inception of the policy, ie by 7 February 2021. No
such inspection took place within that period, or indeed at any time before the fire. The
pursuer maintains that the first defender was at fault in arranging a policy subject to those
conditions without specifically drawing their existence to its attention, and provides a
detailed explanation of why it makes that claim. The case against the first defender is,
however, not the subject of argument at this stage save insofar as it touches upon the case
3
against the second defender (which, through the medium of the guarantee, is also the basis
of the case against the third defender).
[3] In terms of the lease of the unit, the second defender was obliged not to do anything
that might invalidate any insurance cover for the unit, and not to use it for any purpose that
might make any additional premium payable for such insurance, without first agreeing to
pay that premium. At the time the insurance policy was arranged, the second defender was
using a steam treatment to sterilise the waste it was processing at the unit, and it is claimed
that the policy was issued on that basis. In March 2021, without informing anyone else, it
changed its processes to involve the use of gas-fired burners to dry the waste being
processed, and it was one such gas-fired dryer which started the disastrous fire in July of
that year. The pursuer alleges that the use of the gas burners materially increased the risk of
fire being generated by the second defender’s operations at the unit.
[4] The insurer declined liability under the policy, and the pursuer maintains that that
was a result of the actions and omissions of both the first and second defenders. It claims
that, had the first defender acted with due care, an insurance policy would have been
obtained which would have covered the risk of the unit being destroyed by fire at the
relevant date. It claims that, had it been made aware that the second defender proposed to
use gas burners as part of its operations at the unit, it would, further, have obtained a policy
which would have covered the risk of the unit being destroyed by fire in consequence of
those operations. Had valid cover been in place, it maintains that it would have received
payment from an insurer in the amount of £4,599,000 as the insured value of the unit,
together with a payment of £657,904.11 in respect of loss of rent.
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