Offer
An expression of willingness to contract on specified terms, made with the intention that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed. Distinguished from an invitation to treat.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
An offer is one half of the agreement that English law requires for a binding contract. HMRC's National Minimum Wage Manual summarises the basic mechanics: “A contract consists of an offer by one party and an acceptance by the other,” which “may be written, oral or implied or a combination of these,” and “Agreement is reached by the process of an offer by one party being accepted by the other.” An offer must be accompanied by an intention to create legal relations and be supported by consideration before it can mature into an enforceable contract.
An offer is distinguished from an invitation to treat, which merely invites the other party to make an offer rather than expressing a present willingness to be bound. The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance on unfair commercial practices notes the distinct, narrower meaning the phrase carries in contract law: “an ‘invitation to treat’ is used in English contract law to describe an invitation to negotiate which contains no intention to be bound at that particular moment” — contrasting it with the consumer-protection concept of an ‘invitation to purchase’, which is not the same thing.
Related terms
Official sources
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