Official UK procurement notice
ASH In-Service Support Transparency Notice
Authority: Defence Equipment and Support (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Protect Delivery Team, part of the Ministry of Defence, has awarded a contract to Entserv UK Limited for ASH In-Service Support. ASH is software for the electronic Render Safe Procedure (RSP) for Ordnance Munition & Explosives (OME). The contract is for a period of up to 5 years (3 years plus 2 options to extend by a year) with value of up to £2,857,548.41(incl. VAT) including options.
CPV: Content management software package · Data security software package · Data services · File security software package · General utility software package · Storage management software package · Storage media loading software package
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 30 Jan 2026, 16:02 GMT
- Last source update
- 24 Jun 2026, 10:47 BST
- Authority reference
715728477- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-059281- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-061363Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
Reference 2026/S 000-013533
It is considered that this contract can be awarded under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 because the direct award justification specified in paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 (technical reasons) applies.
This is because a change in supplier would require a transfer of the disaster recovery servers and network link which would in turn require a new set of cyber security assurances and penetration testing. The ASH system would be unusable until this was complete as it would not be cyber secure. Due to the nature of the requirement this capability gap would introduce an unacceptable level of risk.
Given the bespoke nature of the ASH system, the absence of alternative suppliers with the required technical expertise, and the significant operational and financial risks associated with transitioning to a new supplier, a direct award to Entserv UK Limited is the only viable option, there is no reasonable alternative.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
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Timeline
30 Jan 2026 → 24 Jun 2026 · 5 dates- Planning notice published264 days ago30 Jan 2026, 16:02 GMT
- Next notice expected250 days ago13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends205 days ago30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts204 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published120 days ago24 Jun 2026, 10:47 BST
Notice history
6 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 30 Jan 2026- Pipeline notice published30 Jan 2026, 16:02 GMTUK1
- Transparency notice published13 Feb 2026, 15:25 GMTUK5
- Status changed to complete13 Feb 2026, 15:25 GMT
- Contract award notice published19 Mar 2026, 17:16 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected1 Apr 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published24 Jun 2026, 10:47 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-01: 1 release · 30 Jan 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| EntServ UK Ltd Part of DXC TechnologyASH In-Service Support1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: x2 1 -year options to extend the contract duration. | £2,381,290 | 19 Mar 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · EntServ UK Ltd Part of DXC Technology
- Signed
- 1 Apr 2026
- Value
- £2,381,290
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 2x 1 -year options to extend the contract duration.
No agreed KPIs: This Contract is for the contination of services currently being provided, the introduction of new bespoke KPIs would provide no additional benefit and would duplicate exisiting performance management mechanisms. Therefore the Authority considers that the inclusion of KPIs would be disproportionate to the nature of the requirement and unnecessary to ensure the continued delivery of the service. The contract is under the £5 million inc VAT Threshold for the mandated inclusion of KPIs.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- EntServ UK LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender