Sabina Estates, the luxury residential development in Cala Tarida, Sant Josep, has disclosed two major construction-related legal disputes involving claims exceeding €9 million. The proceedings are detailed in the 2025 consolidated accounts of its British parent company, Sabina Estates Group Holdings Limited, filed at Companies House in September 2026.
The two cases involve separate contractors and relate to construction work carried out during the development's first phase. One resulted in a judgment requiring Sabina Estates Tarida SL to pay approximately €4.55 million, an amount the company settled in 2025 while continuing its appeal to Spain's Supreme Court. The second involves a contractor's claim for €4.6 million plus legal costs, which remained unresolved when the accounts were authorised.
Although the headline figures exceed €9 million when combined, they do not represent an outstanding debt of that amount. One judgment has already been paid, while the other claim remains disputed and has not resulted in a final ruling.
Two Separate Legal Disputes Arising from the First Construction Phase
The disputes concern construction contracts connected with the development of Sabina Estates, a private residential complex occupying approximately 17 hectares near Cala Tarida.
The project, which comprises 50 villas according to Chapman Taylor's published information, has been developed in several phases and has involved different construction companies.
The accounts of Sabina Estates Group Holdings Limited describe two separate proceedings involving contractors and Sabina Estates Tarida SL, one of the Spanish companies responsible for the development.
When approached by La Voz de Ibiza, Sabina declined to identify the contractors involved. The company explained that the disputes originated from delivery problems during the first phase of the project, which led to a contractual disagreement in 2019.
It also stated that similar problems had not occurred during the four subsequent phases.
First Case: A €4.55 Million Judgment Paid in 2025
The first dispute followed the termination of a construction contract with a joint venture, known in Spain as a unión temporal de empresas (UTE).
According to the company's account of events in its financial statements, the contract was terminated because of repeated delays and other problems affecting the execution of the works.
In June 2022, Sabina filed a claim against the construction consortium seeking €6 million in compensation. The UTE responded in November 2022 with a counterclaim for €7.4 million.
The first judicial ruling was issued on 31 May 2023 and awarded the contractor €388,820. Neither side accepted the outcome, and both appealed to the Provincial Court of Palma.
In November 2024, the Third Section of the Provincial Court issued a further judgment ordering Sabina Estates to pay €4,175,785.65 in principal, together with €373,163.14 in interest.
The total amount was therefore €4,548,948.79.
Sabina subsequently appealed the ruling to Spain's Supreme Court, arguing that there were grounds to challenge the Provincial Court's decision.
However, in February 2025, the construction consortium requested provisional enforcement of the judgment. This procedure can allow a party to seek payment while an appeal is still pending.
The company's accounts state that Sabina paid the full amount in 2025 through a deposit of funds agreed with the consortium. Both parties later submitted a joint request to the court asking that provisional enforcement proceedings not be opened.
The payment did not automatically bring the judicial dispute to an end. When the 2025 accounts were authorised on 2 September 2026, the appeal was still awaiting a decision on admission by the Supreme Court.
The eventual outcome of that appeal therefore remained uncertain.
Second Case: Another Contractor Claims €4.6 Million Plus Costs
A separate legal dispute involves another construction company that worked on the structure of the development's first phase.
In 2021, this contractor brought a claim against Sabina Estates Tarida SL for €4.6 million, in addition to legal costs.
Sabina responded with a counterclaim, and the two parties became involved in a second judicial proceeding.
The preliminary hearing took place in November 2023, followed by further proceedings in July and September 2024. Expert evidence was presented in October 2025.
When the group's 2025 accounts were prepared and authorised in September 2026, the case had not yet resulted in a judgment.
It is important to distinguish the contractor's €4.6 million demand from an amount legally established as payable. The claim remains disputed, and the available financial information does not establish that the court has ordered Sabina to pay it.
Nevertheless, the company acknowledges a potential financial exposure. Its accounts include a provision of €1.5 million to cover the possibility of an unfavourable outcome.
An accounting provision is an estimate of potential financial liability. It is not a court judgment and does not mean that the company will necessarily have to pay either the provisioned amount or the full sum claimed.
The accounts also mention attempts to negotiate a settlement, although they do not establish whether those discussions subsequently resulted in an agreement.
Financial Consequences of the Disputes
The legal proceedings form part of the risks identified in the group's financial statements.
The company's strategic report refers to potential construction cost overruns, delays, quality issues and contractual disagreements. Measures identified to manage these risks include stronger quality controls, the management of claims and the allocation of financial provisions.
The accounts also refer to three open legal matters in the strategic report, although the detailed note on contingencies explains the two major construction disputes. The available documentation does not provide sufficient information to identify the third matter with certainty.
The financial consequences of legal disputes had already affected the group's results in 2024, when it recorded a provision of approximately €5.5 million for litigation-related matters.
For 2025, Sabina Estates Group Holdings Limited reported a consolidated loss of approximately €954,911, compared with a loss of approximately €8.24 million in the previous financial year.
These are consolidated figures for the British parent company and its subsidiaries, rather than financial results attributable exclusively to one property or construction phase in Ibiza.
Sabina Says the Problems Were Limited to the First Phase
In its response to La Voz de Ibiza, Sabina linked the disputes to contractual problems experienced during the first phase of the development in 2019.
The company said that delivery difficulties during that period resulted in the disagreements with contractors but stressed that the same problems had not occurred in the four subsequent phases.
The distinction is relevant because Sabina has continued developing the residential complex while the legal proceedings have progressed.
According to the company's strategic report, phases 2 and 1B had been completed, while work continued on phases 3A, 3B and 4. The company also reported that a number of villas under development had already been presold at the end of 2025.
The existence of the disputes therefore needs to be considered alongside the wider development programme and the company's explanation of how construction performance changed after the first phase.
A Luxury Development with Outstanding Legal Questions
Sabina Estates is one of Ibiza's most ambitious luxury residential developments, bringing together individually designed villas, international architectural practices and private leisure and hospitality facilities near Cala Tarida.
Its construction history, however, includes contractual disputes with significant financial implications.
The published 2025 accounts document a judgment of almost €4.55 million that was paid in 2025 but remained under appeal, alongside a separate €4.6 million contractor claim that had not yet been decided by the courts.
The two cases are civil contractual disputes arising from construction work. The information available does not establish any criminal wrongdoing, nor does it determine the eventual outcome of the outstanding proceedings.
For now, the central facts are that one judgment has been satisfied while an appeal remains pending, and the second contractor's claim continues to represent a potential financial risk for the company.