Official UK procurement notice
Mystery Shopping Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: British Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Governance & Compliance function seeks to obtain the most effective and efficient Mystery Shopper services provider to delivery Mystery Shopping Services (compliance audits) of all British Council IELTS for United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) global network of exam centres. The programme is intended to measure the experience and security when applying for, registering, and attending an IELTS written and speaking test.
- How the procedure runs: The procedure will comprise an initial tender stage, followed by supplier clarification session and a Best and FINAL Tender stage.
CPV: Market research services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs are awarded directly to appointed suppliers, without further competition
- Bids received
- 3 bids received · 2 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 1 Jul 2026
Published description of the framework
The British Council is seeking to appoint a maximum of two suppliers under this framework agreement:
The technical score and the combined total price for Region 1 and Region 2 will be used to calculate an overall score. The two highest‑scoring suppliers overall will be appointed to the framework.
For each region, the technical score and the region-specific pricing score will be combined to determine regional rankings.
The highest-scoring supplier will be appointed as the Lead Supplier.
The other appointed supplier will be appointed as the Secondary Supplier.
The lead supplier for each region will be offered first opportunity to deliver the services contained within the region. If the lead supplier is unable to provide services and/or meet with the agreed Service Level Agreement, the secondary supplier will be offered the opportunity to deliver that discreet service opportunity.
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotEvery one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £220,000: 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 #1Region 1AwardedRenewalceiling above
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2Region 2Renewalceiling above
Mystery Shopping Services for countries under Region 2
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Social Value + Quality + Methodology: 60%
- Price: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- Social Value + Quality + Methodology
- Price: Commercial
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Mystery Shopping Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract, and call-offs are awarded directly: getting appointed is the whole game.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 Apr 2026, 16:22 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Jul 2026, 09:31 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 Jun 2026
- Authority reference
ITT1033655- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-037258- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0689feFind a Tender
- How it runs
The procedure will comprise an initial tender stage, followed by supplier clarification session and a Best and FINAL Tender stage.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 18 May 2026, 18:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 5 May 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
23 Apr 2026 → 15 Jul 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published187 days ago23 Apr 2026, 16:22 BST
- Clarification questions by175 days ago5 May 2026, 14:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends162 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown18 May 2026, 18:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent146 days ago3 Jun 2026
- Award decision expected by145 days ago4 Jun 2026, 00:59 BST
- Standstill ends133 days ago16 Jun 2026, 00:59 BST
- Contract starts118 days ago1 Jul 2026
- Latest notice published104 days ago15 Jul 2026, 09:31 BST
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Apr 2026- Tender notice published23 Apr 2026, 16:22 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published3 Jun 2026, 16:19 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete3 Jun 2026, 16:19 BST
- Contract signature expected18 Jun 2026, 00:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published15 Jul 2026, 09:31 BSTUK7
- Buyer details updated15 Jul 2026, 09:31 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast£220,000 is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 2 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 2 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Region 12 awards | |||
| LC INVESTIGATION LIMITED1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028 · up to 1 Jul 2030Extensions: optional 2x12 months extensions | ceiling above | 3 Jun 2026 | Awarded |
| Serve Legal Limited1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028 · up to 1 Jul 2030Extensions: optional 2x12 months extensions | ceiling above | 3 Jun 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
All 2 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £220,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Contract 2 · Serve Legal Limited
- Signed
- 24 Jun 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028 · up to 1 Jul 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 2x12month optional extension
Contract 1 · LC INVESTIGATION LIMITED
- Signed
- 16 Jun 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028 · up to 1 Jul 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 2 x 12 month optional extension
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Region 1 | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- British CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government
Framework contractors & participating bidders
4 commercial parties on the notice- LC INVESTIGATION LIMITEDFramework contractor
- LC INVESTIGATION LIMITEDFramework contractor
- SERVE LEGAL LIMITEDFramework contractor
- Serve Legal LimitedFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Technical specifications Please create an account on our procurement portal - TAP - and you can the locate the opportunity by searching the reference number provided in this notice. All tender documents and further information can be found here.
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender