Official UK procurement notice
Books and E Books · UK public procurement notice
Authority: ASTON UNIVERSITY (Education)
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionAston University has awarded contracts for the provision of books, e-books and e-textbooks through the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia (SUPC) Books, e-books and associated services framework - LIB4061 SU.
The awarded provision covers print publications, title-by-title perpetual access e-books, subscription e-book packages and e-textbook access via aggregator platforms.
CPV: Library books · Printed books
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Print publications: standard suppliers for library stockCancelled
Large-scale and library-focused suppliers of printed publications and other hard copy materials
Lot #2E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchaseCancelled
Title-by-title purchasing of e-books via an aggregator platform for delivery through the aggregator's own platform.
Lot #3E-book Aggregator: Subscription PackagesAwarded
Subscription e-book packages via aggregator platform
Lot #4E-book aggregator: e-textbooksCancelled
E-textbook access via an aggregator e-textbook platform
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Jun 2026, 11:04 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Jun 2026, 11:04 BST
- Authority reference
1183- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-059297- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bbe4Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The contracts were awarded following a desktop exercise under the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia (SUPC) Books, e-books and associated services framework (LIB4061 SU). The framework permits award following evaluation of framework suppliers. No standalone competition was undertaken.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 3 · E-book Aggregator: Subscription Packages1 award | |||
| ProQuest LLC / Clarivate | £40,000 † | — | Awarded |
| Not linked to a lot3 awards | |||
| EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC. | £246,667 † | — | Awarded |
| A T Little & Sons Ltd T/A Browns BooksSME | £206,667 † | — | Awarded |
| Kortext Limited | £1,848,666 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 059297-2026-1 · EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC.
- Signed
- 10 Mar 2026
- Value
- £246,667
- Status
- active
Contract 059297-2026-2 · ProQuest LLC / Clarivate
- Signed
- 10 Mar 2026
- Value
- £40,000
- Status
- active
Contract 059297-2026-3 · A T Little & Sons Ltd T/A Browns BooksSME
- Signed
- 10 Mar 2026
- Value
- £206,667
- Status
- active
Contract 059297-2026-4 · Kortext Limited
- Signed
- 10 Mar 2026
- Value
- £1,848,666
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 · E-book Aggregator: Subscription Packages | 4bids | — | — | — |
| Whole notice | 4bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The High Court of England and WalesReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
4 commercial parties on the notice- A T Little & Sons Ltd (t/a Browns Books)Awarded supplier
- Ebsco International IncAwarded supplier
- Kortext LtdAwarded supplier
- ProQuest LLC / ClarivateAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.