Construction procurement routes

One of the most important decisions an employer will make in the development process is the choice of procurement route. In the UK construction industry there are three main types of procurement:

  1. traditional

  2. design and build

  3. management.

There is a fourth type—partnering—which is also covered in this sub-topic, although partnering is usually considered as an additional concept to be covered in other contracts rather than a distinct form of procurement. Within each procurement category there are different arrangements and forms of contract which can be adopted.

The employer must consider whether it wants to adopt a single or two-stage tendering approach when procuring its construction project. A single stage tender process involves asking contractors to submit a bid for the works in a competitive tender process on the basis of the documents prepared by the employer, and the selected contractor and the employer then enter into the building contract with the contractor typically having no pre-construction involvement in the project. Two-stage tendering, on the other hand, allows employers to negotiate with contractors and use their expertise before the final price is agreed and

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Construction News

Construction weekly highlights—24 July 2025

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes the Court of Appeal (CoAs)’s decision in relation to NHBC Buildmark Choice policies confirming that the cause of action accrues when the insured party ‘has to pay more’ to complete the building work as a result of contractor insolvency (National House Building Council v Peabody Trust), Construction Leadership Council (CLC) guidance on Building Control Approval Applications for new higher-risk buildings, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) guidance on the Building Safety Levy, MHCLG’s announcement of legal deadlines for landlords to remediate unsafe cladding in social housing, a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) consultation on it updated cladding valuation standard, a British Standards Institution (BSI) consultation on a new code of practice for bringing safe construction products to the market, a Technology and Construction Court (TCC) decision enforcing an adjudicator’s decision to award the responding party in the adjudication the notified sum (VMA Services v Project One), a CoA decision providing guidance on "costs directly incurred" in a waste management project agreement (Buckinghamshire Council v FCC Buckinghamshire Ltd), an update on the status of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill together with updated guidance from MHCLG on the same, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA)’s interactive Infrastructure Pipeline tool, and publication of the Welsh Government’s circular on updated building control profession standards and codes.

View Construction by content type :

Popular documents