Subject to contract stipulations

In GMC Utilities Group Ltd v Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd [2026] EWHC 885 (TCC) Simon Lofthouse KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, held that a "subject to contract" stipulation which had been included in earlier correspondence between the parties had been removed either expressly or by implication in a letter which confirmed the agreement which the parties had made. Although a contract had been concluded between the parties the proceedings between them were stayed as a result of the presence of an arbitration clause in the contract between the parties. The case acts as a reminder of the need to continue to make use of "subject to contract" stipulations if the aim is to ensure that the correspondence between the parties does not result in the conclusion of a binding contract between the parties.