Official UK procurement notice
Operating Lease of Class 720 Rolling Stock Units
Authority: GA TRAINS LIMITED (Public body)
Sectors: Transport Equipment & Vehicles (34) Delivery: East of England (UKH11)
Awarded value£1,045,131,120published award · exc. VAT
Awarded 2 Oct 2026no call for competition
Awarded to Angel Trains Rolling Stock Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionProvision of Operating Lease of Class 720 Rolling Stock. The fleet is comprised of 133nr 5-car units, and the contract includes but is not limited to the lease arrangement as well as related spares, specialist tools and 2x simulators.
The lease of the rolling stock is on the basis that the contracting authority (rather than the supplier) is responsible for all maintenance of the rolling stock.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
34600000 Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts
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
- Utilities
- 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
- 2 Oct 2026, 11:34 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Oct 2026, 11:34 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093239- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bb87Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
- No available fleet is able to meet the operational, performance, quality and capacity requirements that the contracting authority needs from this rolling stock for the necessary contract duration to meet its public passenger rail transport obligations. No alternatives were identified that wouldn't create serious operational constraints due a combination of unit configuration, systems integration, reliability, and fleet size. There are therefore no reasonable alternatives to the Class 720 rolling stock. There is therefore an absence of competition for technical reasons.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £1,045,131,1201 award exc. VAT
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel Trains Rolling Stock LimitedOperating Lease of Class 720 Rolling Stock18 Oct 2026 — 18 Oct 2041Options: The contract includes provisions for modifications to the rolling stock fleet, including but not limited to mandatory modifications in line with changes in legal and industry standards. | £1,045,131,120 | 2 Oct 2026 | Awarded |
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Jun 2026- Contract signature expected14 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract award notice published2 Oct 2026, 11:34 BSTUK6
- Transparency notice published23 Jun 2026, 17:18 BSTUK5
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Angel Trains Rolling Stock LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender