Harley Curtain Wall, the cladding subcontractor that worked for main contractor Rydon on the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower received a discount of 47.5% on the insulation that helped the spread of the deadly fire on 14 June 2017, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard.
Counsel to the Inquiry Kate Grange QC asked former Harley design manager during a hearing yesterday (15 September) if he was aware that the subcontractor had received the discount for the Celotex RS5000 PIR insulation boards used behind the ACM cladding on the building.
She referred to a quote from materials firm SIG dated 17 March 2015 for 660 boards at a cost of £132.19 each, representing a 47.5% discount.
Grange asked Anketell-Jones if he agreed this was a “hefty” discount. Anketell-Jones said: “I wouldn’t be able to comment on it because I wasn’t buying those products. I wouldn’t know if that was normal or abnormal.” He added that he wasn’t aware that Harley was getting any sort of discount.
Grange continued: “Was this a reason for promoting the RS5000 product over other options at Grenfell, because you would receive a very significant discount?”
Anketell-Jones said: “No, I wasn’t aware of it. The only reasons that RS5000 would have been put forward on any project were that we were being told it was appropriate for use above 18 metres and it was one of the few insulations that was capable of achieving the high performance requirements, and then that would have always been sent to the architect and Building Control for approval.”
The Inquiry continues.
