Public procurement

Global experts in public procurement.

Our market-leading practice has significant experience advising procuring entities and bidders on all aspects of procurement structures and bid challenges.

Working closely with our antitrust and state aid teams, our unrivalled cross-border and multi-practice capabilities give us an edge that sees us working on the world’s most high-profile contentious and non-contentious matters. We are at the forefront of this field and are consistently among the top-ranked firms, with a Tier 1 ranking in Chambers for public procurement in the UK.

Public and private clients come to us for advice on their largest and most complex public procurement matters. These range from bid challenges following alleged breaches of public procurement law, to advising on complex overseas procurement structures and establishing global procurement compliance programmes. Our expertise spans numerous sectors, including public health, power, infrastructure, transport and defence, and our lawyers are well-versed in litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution of public procurement disputes.

Recently, we have been advising:

• purchasers and suppliers on European, member state and international procurement law;
• bidders on award procedures for public works, supplies and services contracts;
• contracting authorities on public tenders and detailed procurement structures;
• suppliers on public procurement regimes around the globe; and
• contracting authorities and bidders in court proceedings relating to public tenders and in other contentious proceedings concerning alleged breaches of public procurement law.

See below for recent client successes.

Our lawyers are well-recognised as thought leaders in the field of public procurement. We frequently contribute to publications including the Public Procurement Law Review and King’s College London University’s postgraduate public procurement programme and participate on the procurement task forces of the International Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of British Industry.

Kate Gough has also been invited by the UK Department for International Trade to join the Expert Trade Advisory Group on government contracting, demonstrating our expertise both in the UK and internationally.

Client successes:

• Representing Eurotunnel on its litigation and settlement against the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in relation to the DfT’s award of contracts to shipping suppliers as part of its Brexit preparations. 
• Acting for EnergySolutions its successful challenge to the award of contracts, worth approximately £7.4bn, by the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to decommission 12 key nuclear sites. This was a precedent-setting case that had a significant impact on UK public procurement law.
• Advising a global technology company on a multijurisdictional government procurement feasibility study assessing key issues to considered when accessing public markets across the globe.
• Defending an oil and gas company in UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings, in a bid challenge relating to the tender for well-repair services in Kazakhstan.
• Advising the DfT in relation to the Intercity Express and Thameslink rolling stock procurement programmes.
• Advising the UK government department Defra on the construction, procurement and financing of the 14-mile Thames Tideway Tunnel.