How much are the low performance damages included in the Contract Data?
The low performance damages applicable within secondary option X7 if included in the Contract Data should be a genuine pre-estimate of the actual damages that the Employer will suffer as a result of the Contractor’s breach. They will be identified in Contract Data part 1 at tender stage as the price per day for exceeding the Completion Date and also any Sectional Completion Dates if X5 has also been used. The Contractor can/should therefore price any associated risk within their price.
We have seen them vary from £1/day, where the Employer was making it clear that any overrun would not be a Contractor risk (and hence reflected a cheaper tender price) to £60.000/day on the likes of Crossrail projects.