Official UK procurement notice
61_25 Supply of Writing Instruments
Authority: ESPO
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionFramework for the supply of writing instruments for delivery to the ESPO distribution centre and to ESPO customers.
CPV: Ballpoint pens · Drawing pens · Felt-tipped pens · Fibre pens · Fountain pens · Markers · Technical pens · Writing instruments
How this framework works
From the published notice- Bids received
- 22 bids on the busiest of 2 lots · 17 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 1 yr 3 mo from 1 Jan 2025
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value · evaluation weights differ by lotLot #1ESPO smartbuy branded Writing InstrumentsAwardedPublished value£4,000,000
Supply of ESPO's private label writing instruments for bulk delivery to the ESPO distribution centre.
Lot #2Writing Instrument RangesAwardedPublished value£20,000,000
Supply of ESPO's private label writing instruments for bulk delivery to the ESPO distribution centre.
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.
| Lot | Quality | Price | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · ESPO smartbuy branded Writing Instruments | 20% | 80% | |
| 2 · Writing Instrument Ranges | 80% | 20% |
- Price carries 20–80 points depending on the lot. Read the split per lot below.
- “61_25 Supply of Writing Instruments” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
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
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 17 Sept 2024, 14:45 BST
- Last source update
- 23 Jan 2025, 11:00 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 17 Oct 2024 – …
- Authority reference
61_25- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-002342- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-049b8fFind a Tender
- Performance terms
The minimum financial requirement for the purposes of the current tender exercise is stated in the procurement documents. However in summary, Tenderers are required to have positive net assets / shareholder funds.
If a Tenderer fails to pass the financial assessment and is part of a larger group, provided that the group accounts are provided to ESPO on request and these pass the financial test, a parent company guarantee may be acceptable provided the Tenderer is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary within the group.
In addition, ESPO will use a Credit Reference Agency to provide information on Tenderers. Where the Credit Reference Agency assigns the Tenderer a score indicating higher than moderate financial risk, ESPO will give further consideration to the financial information and financial stability of the Tenderer.
If ESPO has any reasonable cause for concern in relation to this information that cannot be reasonably resolved then this could give rise to the tender being rejected.
This contract will contain a contract monitoring clause which will require suppliers to ensure that there is no material detrimental change in their financial standing and/or their credit rating (as determined by use of a Credit Reference Agency). Bi-annual review meetings will be held.
- Review procedure
Information on deadlines(s) for review procedures can be found in Part 3, Chapter 6 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 17 Oct 2024, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 120 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 17 Oct 2024, 12:01 BST
Timeline
17 Oct 2024 → 23 Jan 2025 · 4 dates- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown17 Oct 2024, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened17 Oct 2024, 12:01 BST
- Contract starts1 Jan 2025
- Notice published23 Jan 2025, 11:00 GMT
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to complete23 Jan 2025, 11:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast2 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Lot 1 - ESPO smartbuy branded Writing Instruments
- Signed
- 10 Jan 2025
- Value
- £4,000,000
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2026
- Status
- active
Lot 2 - Writing Instrument Ranges
- Signed
- 10 Jan 2025
- Value
- £20,000,000
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2026
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · ESPO smartbuy branded Writing Instruments | 22bids · 22 electronic | 17 | — | — |
| 2 · Writing Instrument Ranges | 22bids · 22 electronic | 17 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The Royal Court of JusticeReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
17 commercial parties on the notice- BIC U.K. LIMITEDFramework contractor
- DALER-ROWNEY LIMITEDFramework contractor
- EASTPOINT GLOBAL LTDFramework contractor
- EDDING (U.K.) LIMITEDFramework contractor
- GEM IMPORTS LIMITEDFramework contractor
- HAINENKO LIMITEDFramework contractor
- HELIX TRADING LIMITEDFramework contractor
- LUXOR UK LIMITEDFramework contractor
- MITSUBISHI PENCIL CO. U.K. LTDFramework contractor
- NEWELL BRANDS UK LIMITEDFramework contractor
Show 7 more suppliers
- PENTEL (STATIONERY) LIMITEDFramework contractor
- R. TALENS UK LIMITEDFramework contractor
- SHACHIHATA (EUROPE) LTDFramework contractor
- STABILO INTERNATIONAL GMBHFramework contractor
- STAEDTLER (U.K.) LIMITEDFramework contractor
- THE PILOT PEN COMPANY (U.K.) LIMITEDFramework contractor
- ZEBRA PEN (UK) LIMITEDFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria