Ecolog International Fze v The Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom & Northern Ireland

Facts

Ecolog International FZE, a company established in the United Arab Emirates, challenged the award by the Ministry of Defence of a contract for soft facilities management services at British bases in Cyprus. The contract was awarded to Sodexo Limited following a procurement conducted between May 2020 and February 2024 under the now-repealed Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. Ecolog alleged that Sodexo's bid was abnormally low, that the MOD failed to neutralise Sodexo's incumbency advantage, that the bids were unfairly and erroneously scored, and that the MOD acted unequally in its further negotiations with Sodexo. It was common ground that Ecolog, being established outside the protected territories, was not an economic operator within the meaning of the Regulations and could bring no direct claim for their breach. Ecolog therefore pleaded an implied tender contract arising from the advertisement of the procurement, the issue of the tender documents and its participation, whose terms it said obliged the MOD to consider bids in good faith and to conduct the procurement fairly, equally, transparently and in accordance with the Invitation to Negotiate and the Regulations. The MOD denied any tender contract and contended that Ecolog was seeking to circumvent its exclusion from the Regulations. On 16 January 2026 Eyre J ordered the trial of four preliminary issues on those contractual questions.