In this regulation a “consortium” means two or more persons, at least one of whom is an economic operator, acting jointly for the purpose of being awarded a contract.

Subject to paragraph (3), a contracting authority shall not treat the tender of a consortium as ineligible nor decide not to include a consortium amongst those economic operators from which it will make the selection of economic operators to be invited to tender for or to negotiate a contract on the grounds that the consortium has not formed a legal entity for the purposes of tendering for or negotiating the contract.

Where a contracting authority awards a contract to a consortium it may, if it is justified for the satisfactory performance of the contract, require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into, or as a term of, the contract.

In these Regulations references to an economic operator where the economic operator is a consortium includes a reference to each person who is a member of that consortium.