A FIRM at the centre of a legal row with the two key players behind the Middlesbrough Middlehaven project has asked for more time to find the £54,000 required to take its case to court.

Chilli Developments was told in April that it had to raise £54,000 by June 13 to legally allow its case against Tees Valley Regeneration (TVR) and English Partnerships (EP) to proceed.

Yesterday, Simon Brown, managing director of Middlesbrough-based Chilli, said he had requested an extension in order to find the full amount.

Chilli has brought the case against TVR and EP, saying both parties went back on a "lock out" (exclusivity) deal relating to the redevelopment of five acres of the 50-acre Middlehaven site.

In January, Chilli filed court papers for breach of contract, claiming almost £10m in loss and damages. But the case took a twist in March, when TVR and EP filed their own papers demanding that Chilli pay £325,000 to the court to prove it had the funds, should it lose its case.

The pair also requested that Chilli pay outstanding costs of £40,000, relating to a previous court case last July.

On April 13, the High Court ordered Chilli to pay £54,000 by June 13. The figure includes £20,000 as security for future legal costs.

TVR, the Government agency set up to develop Middlehaven, has always said Chilli's £10m case was "without merit and will be defended in full".