THE owner of the city centre's £12million Zero 4 apartment block has won a landmark court case against one of the people who reneged on buying flats.

The High Court, in Bristol, has ordered the person to pay a whopping £133,282 in damages, costs and interest to Plymouth's Prestige Homes South West Ltd, after pulling out of a deal to buy two Zero 4 flats.

That person will have already lost a deposit, and does not have the flats any more because the contract was rescinded.

Prestige Homes, part of the London and Westcountry Estates Group, said the result was only what it had been expecting.

It is also dealing with about another 20 people who backed out of deals after buying off-plan.

They are among about 30 people who initially paid deposits, on 54 flats, but tried to walk away when property prices started to tumble in mid 2008.

Some people came to an agreement with the firm, but others are being sued.

London and Westcountry Estates finance director Matthew Hockin said another eight cases are on course for a court hearing in February.

But he said that, although cases can differ, the recent High Court decision sets a precedent.

"We have had several telephone calls to arrange a meeting for a settlement figure," he said. "We are trying to settle amicably. If they can settle it's in their interest. We don't want to go to court for anyone."

The Herald revealed in July 2008 how purchasers were getting cold feet and trying to pull out of contracts at the nine-storey Zero 4 tower in The Crescent.

The contracts should have been completed in June and when this did not happen it cost Prestige Homes cash.

Mr Hockin said the firm would never have started work on the building had it not first bagged 55 exchanged contracts.

He said the firm was going to court to secure 'loss in value from (the deals) not completing.

"We had to keep (the apartments), relet them and refinance.

"The cash we were expecting last summer did not arrive. We had to go through the court route to protect our position.

"A lot of people think you can lose your deposit and walk away. But once you have exchanged contracts you are obliged to complete. For them to walk away is unreasonable.

"We have been watching other cases, and the court has found in favour of the developers."

Mr Hockin said that many people made money when the property market was rising and should have 'bitten the bullet' when it fell. He said they could have rented out the flats and 'waited for the market to come back'.

Prestige Homes has let most of the flats in Zero 4, after selling just 18.

Only nine remain empty, which Mr Hockin said gives the building a 91 per cent occupancy rate.

He said the building was virtually completed now, with just some 'cosmetic' work to be done, and a 'couple of penthouses to finish'.

"We still have to fit out our ground floor retail space," he added.