Wholesome Foods Ltd decided to build an extension to its Newtown bakery to cope with increased demand for its wholemeal bread. The contract is awarded to Bettabuilders Co Ltd, which agrees to com- plete the work by 1 May. On the strength of the planned increased capacity at the bakery, Wholesome Foods Ltd concludes an extremely profitable contract with the Newtown Council to supply all the bread to local schools from 4 May. Owing to extreme bad weather in February and March, Bettabuilders Co Ltd completes the extension 10 weeks late. Wholesome Foods Ltd estimates its losses as:
n £100 a week for the profits it would have made on the expected general increase in bread sales: and n £400 a week for the profits it would have made on the schools contract. What damages will Wholesome Foods Ltd recover?
How would your answer differ if Bettabuilders Co Ltd had agreed to pay £50 for every week of delay in completing the extension?