The City of Edinburgh Council has settled its multi-million pound damages claim against law firm DLA Piper that advised it over the capital city’s first tram project, which was delayed and over budget.

The council was suing the company for more than £200 million for alleged “negligent legal advice” provided to TIE, the council’s arms-length company in charge of the tram project.

The council was claiming that DLA Piper failed to give adequate warnings that the price of the tram line would escalate.

The local authority said that under the terms of the agreement with DLA Piper, it could not disclose details of the settlement.

A report scheduled to go to a council meeting on Thursday said: “The litigation against DLA Piper Scotland LLP was resolved out of court in March 2026.”

Council leader Jane Meagher said: “We’ve long recognised that mistakes were made on the first tram project and apologised for the impact this had on Edinburgh’s residents and businesses.

“As a result of this, we made significant changes to project management, governance and independent oversight across the organisation, drawing on lessons from the original project and the findings of Lord Hardie’s Inquiry.

“The successful delivery of the trams to Newhaven project in 2023, which came in on time and on budget, clearly demonstrates that we’ve learned these lessons …

“One thing we won’t apologise for, however, is building a tram system, or our ambition to develop it further.

“Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital and economic powerhouse – the fastest growing city in the country, and recently overtaking London on GDP [Gross Domestic Product] per head.

“Our success drives Scotland’s success and a modern, reliable public transport infrastructure is fundamental to sustaining that growth.”