Official UK procurement notice
Kent International College · UK public procurement notice
Authority: University of Kent (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe University intends to enter into a joint venture with Oxford International Education and Travel Limited (OIEG) to establish an embedded international college. The parties will jointly own/operate the college to deliver courses to international students, who will then have the opportunity to apply for courses at the University/alternative higher education institutions. OIEG will recruit students, administer admissions and provide teaching services. The University shall maintain overall control of the admission decisions/entry requirements and will apply to the UK visas and immigration department to add the college to its student sponsor's licence. OIEG shall incorporate a new company, Kent International College Limited (UIC) through which the college will be operated (with shareholdings as follows: OIEG 99%; and University 1%) and the management and control delegated to the University and OIEG. The JV will operate for a period of 10 years in addition to agreed extensions.
CPV: Higher education services · Operation of an educational centre · Training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The key provisions of the agreement include (effective on the satisfaction of certain…
The key provisions of the agreement include (effective on the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent):
- OIEG shall fund UIC set-up costs and retains responsibility for its financing until it is financed from its own cash flow, including covering the costs of recruiting and employing staff for UIC
- the University shall provide premises via a lease on its campus for UIC to conduct its operations
- UIC is required to pay an educational services fee for access to the University's facilities, which shall be an agreed % of UIC's published tuition fees (which shall be subject to a minimum payment in respect of years 2 and 3 of the contract). The University shall also pay a university administration fee to OIEG in respect of international students who subsequently enrol on a University course (based on a % of first year's tuition fees)
- all students enrolled to study on any programme will be entitled to access the core services available to students studying at the University
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- 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
- Services
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Mar 2023, 12:04 GMT
- Last source update
- 22 Mar 2023, 12:04 GMT
- FTS notice number
2023/S 000-008313- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03b507Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The University has given thorough consideration in respect of whether the arrangement constitutes a public services contract (as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) or a services concession contract (as defined in the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016).
Firstly, any consideration due to OIEG shall derive from income obtained from operating the college (eg student fees). OIEG shall also fund the set-up costs of the college. While the University is making premises available on its campus and will permit students to access its core facilities, such resources are made available in consideration of payment to be made by UIC to the University as described above. Where a UIC student enrols for an undergraduate/post-graduate course at the University, a University Administration Fee (as described above) will be paid to UIC, albeit such fee shall not be payable unless/until a student is fully enrolled on a course and the University is in receipt of the corresponding fees. The University therefore considers that the consideration payable to UIC (and therefore in turn, OIEG) for the most part derives from OIEG's provision of the services. OIEG is not guaranteed to recoup the investments made (while the University will input into the establishment/operation of the UIC, the University is not obliged to provide any form of financial support in the event of UIC experiencing financial difficulties). Therefore, the University has concluded that the arrangement does not constitute a contract for pecuniary interest and as such, does not fall within the ambit of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
Secondly, the University has considered whether there is an entrustment of services to OIEG which, in the absence of this arrangement, would oblige the University to provide such services itself. The University has an established network of recruitment partners and other routes through which it promotes its undergraduate and post-graduate programmes to international students. Therefore, in the absence of the collaboration agreement, the University would not itself be required establish an international college to further its strategic objectives in this regard. To that end, the University has concluded that the arrangement does not encompass all elements of a services concession contract, and therefore falls outside of the ambit of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2015.
Publisher note: OIEG shall be subject to performance monitoring/KPIs including (among other things) target enrolment numbers and student satisfaction. A failure to adhere to such KPIs shall trigger an escalation procedure and ultimately, the potential termination of the JV.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| OXFORD INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAVEL LIMITED | £1 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 008313-2023-1 · OXFORD INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAVEL LIMITED
- Signed
- 21 Mar 2023
- Value
- £1
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- High Court of England and WalesReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Oxford International Education and Travel LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.