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Cleaning company challenges awarding of university contract worth €5.4 million

Grosvenor Cleaning Services claims the university failed to adequately inform it of the reasons for the rejection of its tender

The Grosvenor Cleaning Services Unlimited Co claims NUIG, now called University of Galway, failed to comply with procurement regulations in awarding the contract to clean the college as well as its campus in Co Clare.

Mon Mar 13 2023 - 15:40

A cleaning company has brought a legal challenge to the awarding of a cleaning contract that is worth €5.4 million over four years for the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The Grosvenor Cleaning Services Unlimited Co, of Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin, claims NUIG, now called University of Galway, failed to comply with procurement regulations in awarding the contract to clean the college as well as its campus at the Shannon College of Hotel Management, Co Clare.

Grosvenor holds the cleaning contract for NUIG.

On Monday, the case was admitted to the High Court’s fast-track commercial division by Mr Justice Denis McDonald on the application of NUIG and on consent between the parties.

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The court heard the contract is worth €5.4 million over four years.

In its statement of grounds, Grosvenor claims NUIG committed “manifest errors” in evaluating and/or scoring the tenders of the company and the chosen bidder. Grosvenor scored 952.8 out of 1,000 marks compared to 960.75 for the winning bidder.

The company says NUIG failed to adequately inform it of the reasons for the rejection of its tender or to explain the characteristics and relative advantages of the selected tender. This was in breach of a number of principles of the procurement regulations, including transparency, equal treatment and objectivity, it says.

It also says NUIG failed to take account of certain relevant considerations and took into account certain irrelevant considerations in the evaluation and/or scoring of tenders.

It seeks orders setting aside and/or permanently suspending the awarding of the contract to the winning bidder as well as the commencement of a new tender process.

It also seeks a declaration that the decision to award the contract was unlawful, outside powers and invalid/of no legal effect.

In the event the new contract has been entered into with the winning bidder, it also seeks an order setting it aside or a declaration it is void.

The case comes back before the Commercial Court in July.

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