Infrastructure Joint Venture, UK

Facts

Client: A joint venture

Country: UK

Industry: Infrastructure

Services provided: Advice on challenging a public procurement tender decision under the EU Public Procurement Regulations

Issues

A joint venture organisation bidding for a major public procurement project felt that the bidding process was flawed. It turned to Fenwick Elliott for advice on mounting a claim.

The joint venture is between a number of leading construction and infrastructure organisations. It was a bidder on a major public procurement infrastructure project in the UK.

Dissatisfied with the tender process, it needed prompt advice on the prospects of mounting a successful claim against the contracting authority on the grounds that the tender process was flawed or unfair.

As the joint venture involves a number of different parties, Fenwick Elliott had to be sensitive to potentially conflicting interests.

Solutions

Procurement claims have to be made very promptly, unlike most other legal proceedings.

Fenwick Elliott advised the client on the most effective strategy for dealing with the contracting authority, in terms of finding out more information about the process and the outcome. This included drafting correspondence and then advising what types of information it should try to obtain in subsequent meetings.

Working with external counsel, the firm  then advised the client on the merits of making a successful challenge and the likely procedure, timetable and costs. It also drafted the first steps in legal proceedings.

Benefits

The client received prompt, practical advice about how to proceed.

It benefited from informed guidance – in writing and in person - about the costs and risks of proceedings, in both legal and commercial terms.