Public procurement and subsidies specialist joins Clarke Willmott from competition watchdog

Clarke Willmott has bolstered its procurement team with the arrival of Brendan Ryan as a partner from the Competition and Markets Authority.

The law firm said Ryan’s practice includes working with public sector organisations and utilities to design and run tender processes, defending them against challenge and managing risk when modifying existing public contracts.

“Brendan has extensive experience of advising on exemptions from competitive procurement, including making direct awards and contract extensions, and of providing support to bidders seeking to win major public contracts,” it said.

“Most recently, at the Competition and Markets Authority, Brendan was involved in setting up the new Subsidy Advice Unit, an independent body tasked with reporting on relatively high-value subsidies referred by UK public authorities.”

Before joining the CMA, Ryan worked for international law firms in London.

Ryan said: “With the Procurement Act 2023 coming into force later this year, it’s a really exciting time to have joined Clarke Willmott.

“This new legislation will have an impact on contracts entered into by public authorities and utilities, many of them clients of the firm, including those in the social housing sector. Equally, the new UK subsidy control regime is already making its presence felt, particularly in relation to grant funding arrangements for social housing and regeneration projects.”

Richard Moore, a partner in the procurement team at Clarke Willmott, said: “We are delighted to welcome Brendan to the firm. His non-contentious procurement and subsidy control expertise will be a welcome addition to Clarke Willmott’s existing offering to its social housing and public sector clients and to those clients in the private sector looking to bid for public sector contracts.”