Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 22 Jul 2025, 14:20 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Paper Based and Computer Based Exam Venue in West Africa

Official notice

Authority: British Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdConcession
Sectors: IT Services & Software (72)Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery listed: Côte d’Ivoire (CI)Ghana (GH)Gambia (GM)
+3 moreSierra Leone (SL)Senegal (SN)Togo (TG)
Concession value (operator's revenue)£100,000operator revenue, not the authority's budget
Submissions closed 23 Aug 2025awarded 4 Feb 2026
Award (standstill) to XTART BIZ LTD
Contract term 2 yrsends 1 Oct 2027 · up to 1 Oct 2029 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Paper Based and Computer Based Exam Venue in West Africa – Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Ivory Coast

CPV: Computer hardware acceptance testing consultancy services · Event services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 2 yrsPublished value£100,000
Contract period: 1 Oct 2025 – 1 Oct 2027 (2 yrs) · up to 1 Oct 2029 with extensionsValue: £100,000 exc. VAT · £110,000 inc. VAT
Delivery listed: Côte d’Ivoire (CI), Ghana (GH), Gambia (GM), Sierra Leone (SL), Senegal (SN), Togo (TG)
Extensions: Subject to clause 2.2, this Agreement shall come into force on the Effective Date and, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, shall continue in full force and effect for a period of two (2) years (the “Initial Term”). Subject to the successful completion of a Readiness Audit not later than 2 months before the end of the Initial Term, [and at the discretion of the British Council], the term of the Agreement shall be extended, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, for a further period of two (2) years (the “Extended Term”) at which point, notwithstanding clause 2.2, the Agreement shall terminate automatically. In this Agreement, references to the “Term” shall be construed as references to the Initial Term and/or the Extended Term as required by context. to re-opened every 2 years for the whole of the 8 years.

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Supplier Response: 60%
  • Pricing Approach: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Supplier Response: PleaseCompleteAnnex7Supplierresponse
  • Pricing Approach: PleaseCompleteAnnex3PricingApproach
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Concession
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
22 Jul 2025, 14:20 BST
Last source update
28 Oct 2026, 11:48 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 12 Sept 2025
Authority reference
ITT1025957
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-042033
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Computer hardware acceptance testing consultancy servicesEvent services
Delivery area in notice
Côte d’Ivoire (CI)Ghana (GH)Gambia (GM)Sierra Leone (SL)Senegal (SN)Togo (TG)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0563e0 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: TCS TAP eSourcing
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Submission deadline
23 Aug 2025, 00:59 BST
Clarification deadline
9 Aug 2025, 00:59 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

22 Jul 2025 → 9 Nov 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    22 Jul 2025, 14:20 BST
  2. Clarification questions by
    9 Aug 2025, 00:59 BST
  3. Submission deadline
    23 Aug 2025, 00:59 BST
  4. Award decision expected by
    12 Sept 2025, 00:59 BST
  5. Contract starts393 days ago
    1 Oct 2025
  6. Assessment summaries sent265 days ago
    6 Feb 2026
  7. Latest notice published22h ago
    28 Oct 2026, 11:48 GMT
  8. Today
    29 Oct 2026
  9. Standstill endsin 11 days
    9 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

Notice history

4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Jul 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    22 Jul 2025, 14:20 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    28 Oct 2026, 11:48 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    28 Oct 2026, 11:48 GMT
  4. Contract signature expected
    11 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1some still in standstill
Awarded value £225,0801 award exc. VAT
Bids received 131 from SMEs
Awarded toValueDateStatus
XTART BIZ LTDProcurement for Paper Based and Computer Based Exam Venue in West Africa – Ghana , Gambia, Senegal , Sierra Leone , Togo and Ivory Coast13 Nov 2026 – 31 Oct 2028 · up to 31 Oct 2030Extensions: Extension up to additional 2 years£225,0804 Feb 2026standstill to 9 Nov 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
13final-stage tenders11—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

British Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PHTN-1551-GCQH 1 Redman Place, London, London, E20 1JQContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • XTART BIZ LTDAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PNNW-2363-ZYJX P. O. BOX UP 1527 KNUST KUMASI. GHANA, KUMASI, GH, 0000, GHContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender