Official UK procurement notice
Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) Strategy Development Support
Authority: Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (Public body)
Sectors: Architecture & Engineering (71) Delivery: Scotland (UKM)
Awarded value £500,000published award · inc. VAT
Award in standstill Not publishedno call for competition
Award (standstill) to Orano Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNRS Dounreay is looking to appoint a Consultant to support the strategic review of the Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) project and development of an evidence-based Options study to enable Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) Dounreay to select the future decommissioning approach.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Lot 1Awarded
71600000 Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 10 Sept 2026, 15:25 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Sept 2026, 15:25 BST
- Authority reference
C30866- Latest notice
- Transparency notice (UK5)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f71a
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights
- Published justification
Direct Award Justification under Section 41 and Schedule 5 Paragraph 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. Proposed Supplier: Orano Limited This direct award is justified under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and specifically Schedule 5, Paragraph 5, which permits a direct award where: "(a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the more…
goods, services or works required; and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works." Orano Limited is the owner of LEOPARD- Programme, Cost and Resource modelling software and the associated methodologies, data structures, calculation engines and analytical processes that underpin its operation which has been used previously by the Contracting Authority. The services required under this Contract are not generic consultancy services that could be delivered independently of the software. NRS Dounreay requires analysis and modelling that is specifically generated through the LEOPARD software and its functionality to ensure the commonality. As LEOPARD is exclusively controlled by Orano Limited, no other supplier possesses the legal rights to deploy the software for the purpose of delivering the required modelling services. This satisfies the requirement in Schedule 5 Paragraph 5(a) that only one supplier can supply the services because of intellectual property or exclusive rights. NRS Dounreay has considered whether reasonable alternative suppliers or solutions exist and has concluded that none are available. Whilst other suppliers may possess different scheduling or cost modelling tools, such alternatives would not constitute a reasonable substitute because: Results would not be directly comparable with existing LEOPARD models and datasets previously provided by Orano during the life of the previous contract; It will create a material risk of inconsistency in assumptions, methodologies and outputs. Migration to an alternative platform would require significant redevelopment, including reconstruction of established models, data structures, assumptions and validation processes. Alternative software would not replicate LEOPARD's proprietary algorithms, modelling architecture and decommissioning-specific functionality. As a result, NRS Dounreay considers that no reasonable alternative exists that would meet the operational requirement. This satisfies the requirement in Schedule 5 Paragraph 5(b). A direct award to Orano Limited is considered compliant with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023.
Review and risk notes
- Risks
There is the risk that during this Contract, more scope issues than originally foreseen in the Specification, could be uncovered. This could result in the Contract value requiring increased sanction, which could potentially take the Contract value over the funding available. Changes in project and programme more…
priorities / scope within the organisation, which could result in the desirable outputs / deliverables changing. Consultant may not be able to provide the resource outlined within their Proposal, for the duration of the Contract, or during busy periods. Changes in regulatory requirements or industry standards impacting scope of services.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecastAwards 1some still in standstill
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £500,0001 award inc. VAT — no net value published
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orano Limited2 Nov 2026 — 31 May 2027 | £500,000 inc. VAT | — | Standstill |
Notice history
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 10 Sept 2026- Contract signature expected30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Transparency notice published10 Sept 2026, 15:25 BSTUK5
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Orano LimitedAwarded supplierView supplier profile →
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender