The claimant was invited by the defendant to tender for renovations and construction work on a war-torn building. Having done so, the claimant was informed that his tender had been the lowest and he was led to believe that he would receive a contract. The claimant was then asked to provide various estimates for the purposes of obtaining the licences then necessary, and also a number of further estimates based on altered plans. The defendant subsequently decided not to proceed with the work and instead sold the house. It was held that the builder was entitled to be paid a quantum meruit for the work he had done, because the work extended well beyond the kind of work a builder would have been expected to do gratuitously in the hope of obtaining a contract.
