Official UK procurement notice
Books, e-books and associated services
Authority: University of Reading (Education)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought9 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionFramework agreement for the supply of books, e-books and associated resources and services. This tender is split into 9 Lots. Participating consortia cover universities and other Public Sector members including (but not limited to) schools, colleges, Multi-Academy Trusts, government departments and research institutes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The named consortia are SUPC, NEUPC, NWUPC, LUPC, HEPCW, Academic Libraries North, NEYAL, MUAL, and WHELF.
CPV: Dictionaries, maps, music books and other books · Library books · Printed books · Printed books, brochures and leaflets · School books · Textbooks
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 30 suppliers · 10 bids on the busiest of 9 lots (0.3 per place) · 18 appointed
Lots and requirements (9)Procurement structure
9 lots · all with a published value · a supplier may bid for at most 7 of them · evaluation weights differ by lotEvery one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £120,000,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Print publications: standard suppliers for library stockAwardedRenewalPublished value£70,000,000
Large-scale and library-focussed suppliers of printed publications and other hard copy materials including but not limited to maps, music scores, DVDs, CDs, Standing Orders and out-of-print materials. Suppliers will be capable of meeting operational requirements such as metadata provision, shelf-ready servicing, and interoperability with Library Management Systems. Suppliers may bid for either Lot 1 or Lot 2 but not both. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 1 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
Lot #2Print publications: specialist suppliers for library stockAwardedRenewalPublished value£10,000,000
Specialist suppliers of printed publications and other hard copy materials such as maps, music scores, DVDs, CDs, Standing Orders. Suppliers will specialise according to factors such as language, region of publication, material type, subject, etc. Suppliers may bid for either Lot 1 or Lot 2 but not both. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 2 will be awarded to a maximum of 12 suppliers.
Lot #3Print publications: supply to schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, academic departments (generally non-library)AwardedRenewalPublished value£40,000,000
Supply of printed publications and other hard copy materials, generally for non-library purposes of academic departments, schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, and other public sector organisations. Associated goods relating to reading provision may be supplied under this Lot where a dedicated framework is not required. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 3 will be awarded to a maximum of 8 suppliers.
Lot #4E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchaseAwardedRenewalceiling above
Title-by-title purchasing of e-books via an aggregator platform for delivery via the aggregator’s own platform. Packages may be offered, as may DDA and EBA programmes. Suppliers will offer perpetual access licences but may also offer alternatives (eg. 365 day licences) where perpetual licensing is not available. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 4 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
Lot #5E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchase for third-party platformAwardedRenewalPublished value£40,000,000
Title-by-title purchasing of e-books via an aggregator platform for delivery via a third party or publisher platform. Packages may be offered, as may DDA and EBA programmes. Suppliers will offer perpetual access licences but may also offer alternatives (eg. 365 day licences) where perpetual licensing is not available. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 5 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
Lot #6E-book aggregator: subscription packagesAwardedRenewalPublished value£20,000,000
Subscription e-book packages via aggregator’s own platform. Packages may include wider digital content in addition to e-books. Package content will be pre-defined in nature and not bespoke selections of titles. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 6 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
Lot #7E-book aggregator: e-textbooksAwardedRenewalceiling above
E-textbook access via an aggregator e-textbook platform. Title selections may be bespoke or pre-defined packages. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 7 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
Lot #8E-books: specialist and innovative solutionsAwardedRenewalPublished value£20,000,000
Specialised e-book solutions for delivery via Supplier’s own platform. This Lot offers a route to market for solutions that do not fit the specification of other e-book Lots (Lots 4, 5, 6, or 7). Solutions might include those that are not specifically designed for the HE market, that deliver specialist content, or that offer alternative business models that don’t fit in another Lot. Suppliers bidding for this Lot may not bid for any other e-book Lot (Lots 4, 5, 6, or 7). Additional information: It is intended that Lot 8 will be awarded to a maximum of 12 suppliers.
Lot #9Sales to individual staff/students and bursary provisionAwardedRenewalPublished value£10,000,000
Where a member wishes to set up an approved supplier for individual staff or students to purchase hard copy or digital materials. Bursary provision may also be facilitated where operated on a credit basis and the supplier meets individual member requirements. In these cases, bursaries may include a wider scope of goods that support learning. Additional information: It is intended that Lot 9 will be awarded to a maximum of 5 suppliers.
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.
- Price carries 20–30 points depending on the lot; most lots put it at 20 points.
- “Books, e-books and associated services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 30 suppliers, 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 · publisher note attached- 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
- 7 Aug 2024, 15:19 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Aug 2025, 09:17 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 21 Feb 2025 – …
- Authority reference
LIB4061 SU- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-046368- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-048897Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: The intention is to run a restricted (2 stage) procedure under the Public Contracts Regulstions (2015). The timeline is subject to change so the following is given as an idication only: 25th Oct 2024 - publication of Contract Notice and Stage 1 (Selection Questionnaire) 2nd Dec 2024 - deadline for Stage 1 submissions 6th Jan 2025 - publication of Stage 2 (Technical Questionnaire) 11th Feb 2025 - deadline for Stage 2 submissions Late March 2025 - contract award and standstill April 2025 - contracting and implementation 1st May 2025 - new framework goes live
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 21 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 21 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
Timeline
25 Oct 2024 → 6 Aug 2025 · 4 dates- Next notice expected25 Oct 2024, 00:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown21 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Bids opened21 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Notice published6 Aug 2025, 09:17 BST
Notice history
6 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Jan 2025- Status changed to active6 Jan 2025, 06:16 GMT
- Procurement method changed6 Jan 2025, 06:16 GMT
- Deadline published: 21 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT6 Jan 2025, 06:16 GMT
- Buyer details updated20 Jun 2025, 14:47 BST
- Status changed to complete6 Aug 2025, 09:17 BST
- Buyer details updated6 Aug 2025, 09:17 BST
Published amendments (1)
SUPC has changed name from 'Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium' to 'Southern Universities Procurement Consortium'. There have been no changes in ownership, corporate structure, or anything else material.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2024-08: 1 release · 7 Aug 2024
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast9 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
All 2 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £120,000,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Print publications: standard suppliers for library stock
- Signed
- 9 Jul 2025
- Value
- £70,000,000
- Status
- active
Print publications: specialist suppliers for library stock
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £10,000,000
- Status
- active
Print publications: supply to schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, academic departments (generally non-library)
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £40,000,000
- Status
- active
E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchase
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchase for third-party platform
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £40,000,000
- Status
- active
E-book aggregator: subscription packages
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £20,000,000
- Status
- active
E-book aggregator: e-textbooks
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
E-books: specialist and innovative solutions
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £20,000,000
- Status
- active
Sales to individual staff/students and bursary provision
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £10,000,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Print publications: standard suppliers for library stock | 2bids · 2 electronic · 2 from abroad | 1 | — | — |
| 2 · Print publications: specialist suppliers for library stock | 8bids · 8 electronic · 8 from abroad | 6 | — | — |
| 3 · Print publications: supply to schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, academic departments (generally non-library) | 7bids · 7 electronic · 7 from abroad | 5 | — | — |
| 4 · E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchase | 6bids · 6 electronic · 6 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
| 5 · E-book aggregator: title-by-title perpetual access purchase for third-party platform | 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | 2 | — | — |
| 6 · E-book aggregator: subscription packages | 7bids · 7 electronic · 7 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
| 7 · E-book aggregator: e-textbooks | 5bids · 5 electronic · 5 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
| 8 · E-books: specialist and innovative solutions | 10bids · 10 electronic · 10 from abroad | 7 | — | — |
| 9 · Sales to individual staff/students and bursary provision | 8bids · 8 electronic · 8 from abroad | 6 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Southern Universities Procurement Consortium (SUPC)Contracting authority
- European UnionFunder
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Southern Universities Management ServicesReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
22 commercial parties on the notice- A T Little & Sons Ltd T/A Browns BooksFramework contractor
- AmalivreFramework contractor
- BibliU LtdFramework contractor
- Cambridge University Press and AssessmentFramework contractor
- Casalini Libri SpAFramework contractor
- Casalini Libri SpAFramework contractor
- Digital Content Associates LtdFramework contractor
- EBSCO International Inc.Framework contractor
- Erasmus Antiquariaat en Boekhandel BVFramework contractor
- Erasmus Antiquariaat en Boekhandel BVFramework contractor
Show 12 more suppliers
- Happier Every ChapterFramework contractor
- Kortext LtdFramework contractor
- Macmillan LearningFramework contractor
- Mallory International LimitedFramework contractor
- Mary Martin Booksellers Pte LtdFramework contractor
- Mary Martin Booksellers Pte LtdFramework contractor
- Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KGFramework contractor
- Perlego LimitedFramework contractor
- ProQuest LLCFramework contractor
- VitalSource Technologies LLCFramework contractor
- VitalSource Technologies LLCFramework contractor
- Waterstones Booksellers LimitedFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria