Court rejects 3663 claim over MoD deal

Food wholesaler 3663's claim that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had broken tendering rules when it awarded a supply deal to Purple Foodservice Solutions (PFS) has been dismissed in court.

3663 launched its legal challenge in May because it felt the MoD had failed to negotiate sufficiently with 3663 over the details of the deal and didn't evaluate its bid properly.

Judge Justice Blackburne dismissed the claim because, under the terms of the bid, the MoD was entitled rather than bound to negotiate with 3663. He said: "I find the asserted breaches to be exceedingly weak."

The five-year, £300m contract, which 3663 has held for nine years, will be taken over by PFS on 2 October.

It involves the supply of food and water to 1,200 military bases worldwide.