Official UK procurement notice
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Equipment
Authority: Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority (Police & fire)
Sectors: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment (35) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£900,000≈ £900k / year · £1,080,000 inc. VAT13.3% below published estimate
Submissions closed 23 Feb 2026awarded 19 Mar 2026
Awarded to SOUTHERN SCIENTIFIC LIMITED
Contract term 1 yrends 31 Mar 2027 · up to 30 Sept 2027 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFor 23 devices used to identify biological materials, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
CPV: Nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological protection equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£900,000
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).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (4)
- Technical: 45%
- Equipment Trial: 5%
- Assessment: 10%
- Price: 40%
Published award criteria (4)
- Price
- Technical
- Equipment Trial
- Assessment
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Jan 2026, 15:20 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Apr 2026, 16:03 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 19 Mar 2026
- Authority reference
MFRS 2526-69- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-007721- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060313Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
- Submission deadline
- 23 Feb 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
To access Tender opportunities you need to register on the following portal link: procontract.due-north.com/Register ↗
Timeline
9 Jan 2026 → 23 Apr 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published285 days ago9 Jan 2026, 15:20 GMT
- Market engagement275 days ago19 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
A supplier presentation will take place during the afternoon of Monday 19th January via Microsoft Teams. If you would like to register your interest please email [email protected] and an invite will be sent out.
Please note: This session will be recorded.
- Next notice expected272 days ago22 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published266 days ago28 Jan 2026, 16:01 GMT
- Submission deadline241 days ago23 Feb 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent217 days ago19 Mar 2026
- Award decision expected by216 days ago19 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends205 days ago30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts204 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published181 days ago23 Apr 2026, 16:03 BST
Notice history
9 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Jan 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published9 Jan 2026, 15:20 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published28 Jan 2026, 16:01 GMTUK4
- Status changed to active28 Jan 2026, 16:01 GMT
- Procurement method changed28 Jan 2026, 16:01 GMT
- Deadline published: 23 Feb 2026, 13:00 GMT28 Jan 2026, 16:01 GMT
- Contract award notice published19 Mar 2026, 15:52 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete19 Mar 2026, 15:52 GMT
- Contract signature expected31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published23 Apr 2026, 16:03 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-01: 1 release · 9 Jan 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £780,4591 award exc. VAT
Bids received 22 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 1 Apr 2026
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHERN SCIENTIFIC LIMITED1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 30 Sept 2027Extensions: 1 optional extension of 6 months. | £780,459 | 19 Mar 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · SOUTHERN SCIENTIFIC LIMITED
- Signed
- 1 Apr 2026
- Value
- £780,459
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 30 Sept 2027 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- One optional extension of 6 months.
No agreed KPIs: Supply of Goods contract with Contract Value less than £5 million.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- SOUTHERN SCIENTIFIC LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender