Consortium bidding and joint bids
A consortium lets several firms bid together for a public contract without forming a company. Joint and several liability, the lead member and SME advantages.
Updated on September 5, 2026
A consortium, or joint bid, is a temporary association of several suppliers that bid together for a public contract. Each member contracts with the buyer, and one of them, the lead member, represents the group in dealings with it. UK buyers also use the term joint venture, though a consortium usually stops short of creating a separate company.
How it works
The Procurement Act 2023 expressly allows groups of suppliers to bid and stops a buyer from requiring a particular legal form at bid stage; the same rule applies in Scotland and in Ireland. A buyer may require the group to take a specific form after award, for example a special purpose vehicle, but only if it said so in the tender documents and can justify it for performance reasons.
Two arrangements are common:
- joint and several liability, where every member is liable to the buyer for the whole contract and must cover another member's failure. Most UK buyers require this, and often ask for parent company guarantees as well;
- several liability, where each member is responsible only for the work allocated to it in the form of tender, with the lead member coordinating.
Each member submits its own supplier information or ESPD, and the group's capacity is assessed as a whole, so turnover, insurance and references can be combined. The tender documents may forbid a supplier from bidding both alone and in a group, or from sitting in two competing consortia for the same contract.
What it means for a bidder
A consortium is one of the best routes into public contracts for an SME. It lets you bid for work too large or too varied for one firm by combining complementary skills: an electrician with a plumber on a mechanical and electrical package, a design practice with an installer, two grounds maintenance firms covering different areas.
Choose the arrangement carefully. Joint and several liability reassures the buyer but exposes each member to the others' failure, so check your partners' finances before signing anything. Put a consortium agreement in place covering the split of work and money, the lead member's authority, insurance, exit and dispute resolution. Verify your partners' standing too: the whole bid falls if one member is caught by an exclusion ground.
Example
Serre County Council tenders a highways maintenance contract as a single lot, estimated at £1,800,000 including VAT over two years. Two medium-sized civils firms, neither able to carry that volume alone, bid as a consortium with joint and several liability and a named lead member. One takes earthworks and surfacing, the other kerbs, drainage and signing. They submit a single bid and beat two national groups.
Frequently asked questions
How does a consortium differ from subcontracting?
In a consortium each member has a contract with the buyer and is paid under it. A subcontractor has a contract only with the main supplier.
Do we have to set up a company?
Not usually. A consortium is a contractual arrangement between the members. A buyer can require a special purpose vehicle after award if it warned bidders in advance.
Is the lead member always liable for the others?
Under joint and several liability, yes, and so is every other member. Where liability is several, each firm answers only for its own scope.