The landscape in relation to the award of concession
contracts by public bodies and utilities has recently fundamentally
changed. This Briefing Note highlights what has changed and what to
expect. In addition to examining the likely impact on how public
bodies and utilities (together "contracting authorities")
award concession contracts, this Briefing Note addresses some
issues relevant to concession contracts generally.
WHAT IS A CONCESSION?
As the name suggests, a concession is where one party gives
(concedes) to another party the right to use an asset to make an
economic return. The concessionaire usually pays a percentage of
that return to the party offering the concession. An obvious
example would be the grant of a concession to run a café
service in a university, an energy manager to reduce energy
consumption in a hospital, or a service provider to run a car park
in hospital grounds. Generally, the concessionaire takes the risk
on whether anyone buys enough
