Procurement challenges

Challenges to procurement decisions have become an established feature in the letting of public contracts. It is a fast moving special type of litigation which fuses public/private law, EU law with commercial litigation considerations and practices – now managed by the Technology and Construction Court guidance on public procurement claims.

Our procurement challenge team regularly acts for central and local government, housing associations and, on occasion, economic operators.

Whatever the circumstances, our early intervention can contain and prevent potential areas of challenge escalating by giving the right strategic and procedural advice. For example, we can advise on how to handle a mistake in a tender submission or advising on the permitted bounds of a clarification in order to ensure that the best possible decisions are made at the earliest available time.

Our long experience has proven that early committed, engaged and properly directed action is the optimum way of preventing proceedings being commenced or giving a challenger informed advice about how to proceed.

We have substantial experience in advising on and acting in ending contract-making suspensions, pre-action/early disclosure and confidentiality rings.

Even post-procurement, when a contract has been entered into, we can help by mitigating the risk of challenge, where an authority is considering modifying a contract during its term.