Specialists International
This Knowledge Check examines the Trust's application to lift the automatic suspension preventing entry into a contract for a new blood establishment computer system, together with Mak's application for an expedited trial. The court had to assess the adequacy of damages and whether the disputed regulatory-compliance case could properly be examined on an interim application.
Mak was the incumbent supplier to the Welsh Blood Service and placed third in the procurement. GPI SpA was the successful tenderer. Mak commenced proceedings under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which activated the regulation 95(1) suspension. The contract was worth between GBP 320,000 and GBP 1.3 million per year. Mrs Justice Jefford DBE heard the applications on 18 November 2025.
The court applied the American Cyanamid framework and declined to conduct a mini-trial of the disputed regulatory issues. Damages were adequate for Mak but not for the Trust. The court lifted the automatic suspension and refused Mak's application for expedition.
- The procurement, the parties and Mak's tender ranking
- The automatic suspension under regulation 95(1)
- The American Cyanamid framework
- The serious-issue concession and the prohibition on a mini-trial
- The disputed medical-device and in vitro diagnostic regimes
- The annual contract value and Mak's turnover evidence
- The evidence required to establish irrecoverable reputational loss
- The adequacy of damages for Mak and for the Trust
- The refusal of expedition and the orders made