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A losing bidder for a €75m contract to provide surveys for the retrofitting of hundreds of thousands of properties is bringing an appeal over a High Court decision refusing to order the winning bidder to disclose its lower and confidential pricing structure.
The contract, which was awarded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), is set to last up to five years and is estimated to be worth €75m. The services include building energy ratings (BERs), surveys and inspections.
The contract is currently held by Kerrigan Sheanon Newman Unlimited Company (KSN) which has been supplying the services to the SEAI since 2012.
KSN lost out in the public procurement process when a new contract was publicly offered for tender which Abtran won.
KSN then brought High Court proceedings against the SEAI, with Abtran as notice party, challenging the award.
It claimed the Abtran tender was too low, pointing out that it was 30pc lower than the price currently being paid to KSN for the service.
The SEAI disputes KSN’s claims.
In a pre-trial application, KSN sought discovery of documents and materials from the SEAI in relation to the Abtran tender.
Last February, the High Court refused to grant discovery saying KSN did not provide compelling arguments to justify the “very significant encroachment on the confidentiality of a winning tenderer’s bid”.
Today’s news in 90 – 4th June 2025
On Tuesday, Johnathan Newman SC, for KSN, told the court that his client had appealed that decision. While there had been certain agreed discovery between the parties, the High Court decision went against “the run of case law” in discovery.
An appeal date had been set in July and the parties were agreeable to a hearing of the matter in December, he said.
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said it was clearly a very urgent matter and he would list it for hearing for four days in December with a for-mention date in October.
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