Bidder Consortium in Public Procurement 2026

Bidder consortium: grouping of several operators for the joint submission of a tender in a public procurement procedure. Definition, legal basis, duties.

Definition: A bidder consortium is the contractual grouping of several legally independent operators that submit a joint tender in a public procurement procedure without forming a new legal entity for that purpose.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 19, BVergG 2018 § 6, GWB § 43

What is a bidder consortium?

A bidder consortium — in German procurement practice often also referred to as a bidding consortium ("Bietergemeinschaft") — is a project-specific cooperation between several operators that participate jointly in a public contract. The participating operators remain legally independent but are typically jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority. The consortium presents itself externally as a single entity and nominates a lead member to act as the point of contact for the contracting authority.

The term "bidder consortium" is used in Austrian procurement law (BVergG 2018) and in German procurement law (GWB), although in practice the terms "bidding consortium", "working consortium" (ARGE) and "consortium" are often used interchangeably.

Admissibility and legal basis

The ability to submit tenders as a consortium is expressly guaranteed under European procurement law. Art. 19 (1) Directive 2014/24/EU makes it clear that contracting authorities may not exclude groups of economic operators from participation merely because they have not taken on a specific legal form. The contracting authority may, however, require a bidding consortium to take on a specific legal form if it is awarded the contract.

In Germany admissibility follows from § 43 GWB, in Austria from § 6 BVergG 2018. Competition-law limits apply: operators that could individually perform the contract may not form a consortium for anti-competitive reasons (Art. 101 TFEU).

Suitability requirements within the consortium

For a bidder consortium the suitability requirements are in principle assessed across all members jointly, with the precise approach depending on the type of requirement.

Authorisation / trade licence: Each member must hold the authorisation required for its share of the work.
Financial standing: Members may aggregate their economic indicators.
Technical ability: References and technical personnel from all members may be pooled.
Personal suitability (grounds for exclusion): Each individual member must be free of mandatory grounds for exclusion.

Duties and requirements

The bidder consortium must state clearly in its tender which member is taking the lead and how the shares of the work are divided among the members.

Typical requirements set by the contracting authority:

Designation of the authorised representative (lead member)
Submission of a consortium agreement or power of attorney
Joint-and-several liability declaration from all members
Clear allocation of work shares (where appropriate, as a percentage)

Distinction from subcontracting

A bidder consortium must be clearly distinguished from subcontracting: in a consortium, all members are directly and jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority. In subcontracting, by contrast, the contractual relationship exists only between main contractor and subcontractor; the contracting authority has, in principle, no contractual claims against the subcontractor.

FAQ

Must all members of a bidder consortium meet the suitability requirements? Not necessarily in full: for professional and economic suitability the members can complement each other. For grounds for exclusion and professional authorisations, however, each member must meet the requirements for its share of the work.

Can a contracting authority exclude bidder consortia outright? No. Excluding bidding consortia is in principle impermissible under Art. 19 Directive 2014/24/EU. The contracting authority may only require a specific legal form (e.g. a GmbH) to be adopted upon award.

What does competition law say about bidder consortia? Operators that could each perform the contract on their own must not form a consortium without an objective justification, as this can be classified as an anti-competitive agreement under Art. 101 TFEU.

Last updated: January 2026 Information provided without warranty. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement.