Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 29 May 2026, 10:29 BST

Official UK procurement notice

491 Internal Audit Services

Official notice

Authority: University of Lincoln (Education)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£600,000≈ £200k / year · £600,000 inc. VAT16.7% below published estimate
Submissions closed 2 Jul 2026awarded 18 Sept 2026
Awarded to Mazars LLP
Contract term 3 yrsends 30 Sept 2029 · up to 30 Sept 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This is a Contract Details Notice for the University of Lincoln's Internal Audit Services contract. A contract has been awarded for an initial 3 year period, with a further 2 years of optional extensions (at the University's discretion).

The core services required under the University's Internal Audit service in summary include the development and delivery of an internal audit strategy and plan, advice on governance, risk management and internal controls, incorporating proactive knowledge and best practice, providing recommendations on optimising value for money outcomes and a year end audit report and audit opinion to senior management, the Board of Governors and the Office for Students.

The University operates within a rapidly evolving Higher Education landscape, facing sector wide pressures including financial sustainability challenges, cyber security threats, volatility in student recruitment, increasing regulatory expectations from the Office for Students, and rising demands around data quality, governance, and organisational resilience. Hence, interested suppliers will need to demonstrate that they have the breadth of specialisms to provide an effective internal audit provision across this range of risk areas. Demonstrating capabilities and added value across the breadth of audit provision will be a key area of assessment in the procurement exercise.

CPV: Auditing services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£600,000
Contract period: 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 30 Sept 2031 with extensionsValue: £600,000 exc. VAT · £600,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East MidlandsEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: There are 2 x 12 month extension options available resulting in a 5 year potential contract length in total.

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: 70%Price: 30%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Method Statement Evaluation: 70%
  • Price Evaluation: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Price Evaluation
  • Method Statement Evaluation
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
29 May 2026, 10:29 BST
Last source update
15 Oct 2026, 10:32 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 9 Sept 2026
Authority reference
491
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-050665
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Auditing services
Delivery area
East Midlands (UKF3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a86f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Delta eSourcing · Who buys & how to bid on Delta
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free Select account; no DUNS asked at signup
Submission deadline
2 Jul 2026, 11:00 BST
Clarification deadline
2 Jul 2026, 11:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

29 May 2026 → 15 Oct 2026 · 7 dates
  1. Tender notice published144 days ago
    29 May 2026, 10:29 BST
  2. Clarification questions by110 days ago
    2 Jul 2026, 11:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline110 days ago
    2 Jul 2026, 11:00 BST
  4. Award decision expected by41 days ago
    9 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Assessment summaries sent33 days ago
    18 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
  6. Contract starts20 days ago
    1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
  7. Latest notice published5 days ago
    15 Oct 2026, 10:32 BST

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 May 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    29 May 2026, 10:29 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    18 Sept 2026, 15:20 BST
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    18 Sept 2026, 15:20 BST
  4. Contract signature expected
    30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
  5. Contract details notice published
    15 Oct 2026, 10:32 BST
    UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £500,0001 award inc. VAT; no net value published
Bids received 71 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 9 Oct 2026
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Mazars LLPInternal Audit Services1 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2029 · up to 30 Sept 2031Extensions: There are 2 x 12 month extension options available resulting in a 5 year potential contract length in total.£500,000 inc. VAT18 Sept 2026Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · Mazars LLP

    Signed
    9 Oct 2026
    Value
    £500,000 inc. VAT
    Period
    12 Oct 2026 – 11 Oct 2029 · up to 11 Oct 2031 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    There are 2 x 12 month extension options available resulting in a 5 year potential contract length in total.

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
7final-stage tenders · 9 at stage one10—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

University of Lincoln

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PGYJ-5468-QTPJ Brayford Pool, Lincoln, East Midlands, LN6 7TSContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Forvis Mazars LLPAwarded supplierGB-COH: OC308299 30 Old Bailey, London, London, EC4M 7AUContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender