Find a TenderAwarded without competition
Published 26 Aug 2025, 13:56 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Provision of Planned and Responsive Maintenance and Minor Works - Armagh M&E Lot 2 Reference number Armagh M&E Lot 2

Official notice

Authority: the Education Authority (Central government)

WorksAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Awarded value£135,265,0002 contracts · exc. VAT
Awarded 8 Oct 2025no call for competition
Awarded to C H C GROUP LTD, CHC Group Ltd2 awards
Contract term 4 moends 31 Mar 2026 · extension options published · starts 4 Dec 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The award of a contract by Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union, in respect of the continued provision of Contract Lot 2: Term Service Contracts for Mechanical and Electrical Maintenance and Minor Works in the old Southern Education and Library Board area, Contract Lot 2 as further described in OJEU Contract Notice and as outlined in the previous VEATs issued on 28 May 2021, 15 April 2022, 13 December 2022, September 2023, 8 February 2024 and 12 April 2024.

CPV: Building construction work

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1 4 mo
Contract period: 4 Dec 2025 – 31 Mar 2026 (4 mo)
Extensions: The VEAT 2024/S 000-004325 issued on 8 February 2024 extended this contract until 31 August 2025 with an option for the EANI to terminate, at its sole discretion, the contract by providing the contractor with written notice of its intention to terminate the contract. The previous VEAT Notice 2024/S 000-012073 issued on 12 April 2024 detailed EANI’s intention, upon receipt of compelling evidence, to consider the review of certain prices in the price lists for specific elements of which the impact of inflation is higher than what could have reasonably and diligently anticipated. EANI are now required to extend the contract until 31 March 2026 with the further option for EANI, in its absolute discretion, to terminate the contract by providing the contractor with two months’ written notice of its intention to terminate the contract. EANI are also required to increase the value of this contract. The overall nature of contract is not altered and the Modification value does not exceed 50 % of original contract value. The total value of the extension is 4,000,000.00GBP.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
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
Works
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
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
26 Aug 2025, 13:56 BST
Last source update
3 Dec 2025, 14:43 GMT
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-079411
Classification (CPV)
Building construction work
Delivery area
Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-058dc8 Find a Tender
Why no open competition
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification

EANI needs to extend the duration and value of this contract as additional expenditure has been incurred due to unforeseen additional budget release which the consequent additional funding facilitated additional works and unforeseen demand in respect of response works and for works to accommodate children with SEN.A rise in statutory compliance works and reactive maintenance works that EANI had to undertake has resulted in substantial expenditure.

At the time of the previous VEAT Notice,EANI hoped that another tender would be awarded resulting in decreased demand on this contract,however,the award has been delayed.The current procurement is intended to be replaced by 6 procurements,representing a portion of the services previously delivered.Procurements 1 + 2 have been awarded.A challenge lodged in respect of Procurement 3,caused significant and unforeseen delay and subsequent procurements. This challenge,and the time required to address it,was not foreseeable.

As a result,it has not yet been possible to finalise the awards the remaining Procurements.Therefore,it has become necessary to continue delivering the services under the current contract to ensure continuity of service delivery.This requires an extension of the current contract beyond its original transition period.

An uplift is required to reflect the extended duration.The delays to the replacement procurements+ongoing operational reliance on this contract,means the contract must remain active for longer than could have been foreseen.It is necessary to increase the contract value to allow services to continue during this extended period.

Delays in the implementation of key systems required,including those necessary to support digital integration,have impacted project timelines.The implementation of the contractor’s API with the EA’s systems has taken longer than anticipated. This has had an unexpected effect on Procurements 3, 4, 5 and 6,dependencies not foreseeable at the time of the original procurement and have led to additional delays with the award timeline.

This,combined with the effect of inflation which not anticipated at the time of the original Contract Notice or subsequent VEAT Notices,has precipitated a more rapid consumption of the value of the contract stated in the previous VEAT Notice.

The total value of the extension is 4,000,000GBP which does not exceed 50 % of the original contract value.This uplift is in addition to the 4,000,000GBP applied detailed in the previous VEAT Notice 2024/S 000-004325 published,8 Feb 2024.

The uplift in value is also being sought as a precautionary measure to ensure continued service delivery of the SEN programme and potential of ongoing response maintenance works.

Reg 72(1)(c) permits this extension+increase in value of the Contract,due to unforeseen circumstances;the demand caused by delayed tenders;reallocation of works due to contractor withdrawal;API implementation timeframe.The overall nature of the contract is not altered and Modification value is 4,000,000GBP which does not exceed 50% of the original contract value.This contingency includes sums to permit work in other Lots (as per contract + Reg 72 (1)(a)).

To ensure continued access to schools and the scale,complexity and nature of the construction works and possible duplication of costs it is not possible to change the current provider.Regulation 72(1)(b) further permits this as a change of provider:

(i) cannot be made for economic and technical reasons as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability of services procured under the original procurement and given the need to ensure continued access to EANI schools and facilities and could result in partial/total closure of schools; and

(ii) will cause significant inconvenience and duplication of costs. EANI envisages new contract award by 31/03/26 and the contract extension permits the CA to terminate the contract before this date upon the provision of two months’ notice.

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

3 Dec 2025 → 4 Dec 2025 · 2 dates
  1. Notice published323 days ago
    3 Dec 2025, 14:43 GMT
  2. Contract starts322 days ago
    4 Dec 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 2
Awarded value £135,265,0002 contracts exc. VAT
Contracts signed 2latest 8 Oct 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
C H C GROUP LTDSME£4,000,000 †—Awarded
CHC Group LtdSME£131,265,000 †—Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 079411-2025-2025/S 000-051273-1 · CHC Group LtdSME

    Signed
    8 Oct 2025
    Value
    £131,265,000
    Period
    1 Jun 2022 – 31 Mar 2026
    Status
    active
    • Change This Notice concerns VEAT Notice issued on 26.08.25 detailing EANI’s extension of the contract until 31.03.26 with further option for EANI, in its absolute discretion, to terminate the contract by providing two months’ notice. EANI needs to extend the duration and value of this contract as additional expenditure has been incurred due to unforeseen additional budget release which the consequent additional funding facilitated additional works and unforeseen demand in respect of response works and for works to accommodate children with SEN.A rise in statutory compliance works and reactive maintenance works that EANI had to undertake has resulted in substantial expenditure. At the time of the previous VEAT Notice,EANI hoped that another tender would be awarded resulting in decreased demand on this contract,however,the award has been delayed.The current procurement is intended to be replaced by 6 procurements,representing a portion of the services previously delivered.Procurements 1 + 2 have been awarded.A challenge lodged in respect of Procurement 3,caused significant and unforeseen delay and subsequent procurements. This challenge,and the time required to address it,was not foreseeable. As a result,it has not yet been possible to finalise the awards the remaining Procurements.Therefore,it has become necessary to continue delivering the services under the current contract to ensure continuity of service delivery.This requires an extension of the current contract beyond its original transition period. An uplift is required to reflect the extended duration.The delays to the replacement procurements+ongoing operational reliance on this contract,means the contract must remain active for longer than could have been foreseen.It is necessary to increase the contract value to allow services to continue during this extended period. Delays in the implementation of key systems required,including those necessary to support digital integration,have impacted project timelines.The implementation of the contractor’s API with the EA’s systems has taken longer than anticipated. This has had an unexpected effect on Procurements 3, 4, 5 and 6,dependencies not foreseeable at the time of the original procurement and have led to additional delays with the award timeline. Further information in VII.2.2 below., Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee: This,combined with the effect of inflation which not anticipated at the time of the original Contract Notice. The total value of the extension is 4,000,000GBP which does not exceed 50 % of the original contract value. This contingency includes sums to permit work in other Lots (as per contract + Reg 72 (1)(a)).This uplift is in addition to the 4,000,000GBP applied detailed in the previous VEAT Notice 2024/S 000-004325 published on 8 February 2024. The uplift in value is also being sought as a precautionary measure to ensure continued service delivery of the SEN programme and potential of ongoing response maintenance works. Reg 72(1)(c) permits this extension+increase in value of the Contract,due to unforeseen circumstances;the demand caused by delayed tenders;reallocation of works due to contractor withdrawal;API implementation timeframe. To ensure continued access to schools and the scale,complexity and nature of the construction works and possible duplication of costs it is not possible to change the current provider.Regulation 72(1)(b) further permits this as a change of provider: (i) cannot be made for economic and technical reasons as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability of services procured under the original procurement and given the need to ensure continued access to EANI schools and facilities and could result in partial/total closure of schools; and (ii) will cause significant inconvenience and duplication of costs. EANI envisages new contract award by 31/03/26 and the contract extension permits the CA to terminate the contract before this date upon the provision of two months’ notice. Contract varied on 8 September 2024.
  • Contract 051273-2025-1 · C H C GROUP LTDSME

    Signed
    22 Jul 2025
    Value
    £4,000,000
    Period
    … – 31 Mar 2026
    Status
    active

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

the Education Authority

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentBody governed by public lawEducation 40 Academy Street, Belfast, UK, BT1 2NQContact email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • The UK does not have any special review body with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures in public procurement competitionsReview body Belfast

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice
  • C H C Group LtdAwarded supplier Craigavon, Northern IrelandContact email
  • CHC Group LtdAwarded supplier Craigavon, Northern IrelandContact email

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.