A client can transfer a contract to a ‘rescue contractor’ following the insolvency of their existing contractor without a new procurement, even where the contract is the only part of the business of the insolvent contractor that the new contractor takes over.

This was confirmed in the case of Advania Sveridge. Under Regulation 72(1)(d)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, a client does not need to retender a contract where it is transferred (usually by novation) from an insolvent contractor to a new contractor that has 'succeeded to the business of' the insolvent contractor. The case confirmed that this still applies if the only part of the business the new contractor takes over is the contract itself (which in the case was a framework agreement).