Alfred McAlpine drops appeal

Alfred McAlpine has agreed to withdraw its appeal against the High Court judgement that it could not drop the 'Alfred' from its name.

Alfred McAlpine will amend its logo and change the name of its operating subsidiary companies to include the 'Alfred'. It dropped the distinguishing first name last October as part of a £350,000 rebranding exercise, which was expected to produce £200,000 annual savings.

Sir Robert McAlpine sought redress in the High Court, citing a longstanding family agreement that the two firms would use their first names to avoid confusion in the market place. Mr Justice Mann found in favour of Sir Robert.

The two firms racked up legal costs of around £1.2m.