Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 23 Jun 2025, 16:09 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Corporate IT Security Solution

Official notice

Authority: Merseytravel (Public body)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable

Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: North West (UKD)

Published estimate£600,000≈ £300k / year · £720,000 inc. VAT

Submissions closed 25 Jul 2025awarded 31 Oct 2025

Awarded to SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

Contract term 2 yrsends 7 Sept 2027 · up to 7 Sept 2029 with extensions · starts 8 Sept 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Merseytravel (an officer of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority) is seeking to appoint a single strategic MDR/SOC provider to act as a trusted, accountable partner responsible for delivering robust cybersecurity, threat detection, incident response, and security operations, while driving innovation to ensure security enhances rather than constrains business operations.

The proposed contract is for an initial 2 years with an option to extend up to an additional 2 years.

CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 2 yrsPublished value£600,000

Contract period: 8 Sept 2025 – 7 Sept 2027 (2 yrs) · up to 7 Sept 2029 with extensionsValue: £600,000 exc. VAT · £720,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: North West

Extensions: As part of their bid, suppliers will be able to propose optional extras which can be purchased from the Contracting Authority over the term of the agreement. This will be detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal at https://procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index?v=2 · Potential extension of term by up to 24 months

72000000 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2

Economic & financial standing
As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.
Technical & professional ability
As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 80%Price: 20%

Published sub-criteria (2)

Quality: 80%
Financial/Commercial: 20%

Published award criteria (2)

Quality: As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.
Financial/Commercial: As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.

Conditions of participation2

Economic & financial standing
As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.
Technical & professional ability
As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal.

What this means for your bid

Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 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: Services
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: Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 23 Jun 2025, 16:09 BST
Last source update: 25 Nov 2025, 13:40 GMT
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 28 Aug 2025
Authority reference: DN777291 / PRA476
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-034489
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Delivery area: North West (UKD)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-055200 Find a Tender
Contract terms summary: As detailed within the tender documents on The Chest Procurement Portal available at procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index ↗

Review and risk notes

Risks: As detailed within the tender documents on The Chest Procurement Portal available at procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index ↗

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list

Submission deadline: 25 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
Clarification deadline: 7 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

As detailed within the tender documents available on The Chest procurement portal available at procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index ↗

Timeline

23 Jun 2025 → 25 Nov 2025 · 8 dates

Tender notice published
23 Jun 2025, 16:09 BST
Clarification questions by
7 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission deadline
25 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
Award decision expected by
28 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
Contract starts
8 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
Assessment summaries sent351 days ago
31 Oct 2025
Standstill ends339 days ago
11 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
Latest notice published326 days ago
25 Nov 2025, 13:40 GMT

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Jun 2025

Tender notice published
23 Jun 2025, 16:09 BST
UK4
Contract award notice published
31 Oct 2025, 10:34 GMT
UK6
Status changed to complete
31 Oct 2025, 10:34 GMT
Contract signature expected
12 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
scheduled
Contract details notice published
25 Nov 2025, 13:40 GMT
UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £600,0001 award exc. VAT

Bids received 1210 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 24 Nov 2025

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED13 Nov 2025 – 9 Nov 2027 · up to 9 Nov 2029Extensions: Initial 2 year term, with a built in option to extend the contract period by up to a further 2 additional years. · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. This is built into the contract and pricing mechanism. Within the contract, the Contracting Authority may purchase additional modular optional extra services which can be purchased over the term of the agreement.	£600,000	31 Oct 2025	Awarded

Contracts

Purchase of IT Corporate Security Solution · SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Signed
24 Nov 2025
Value
£600,000
Period
24 Nov 2025 – 9 Nov 2027 · up to 9 Nov 2029 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
Initial 2 year term, with a built in option to extend the contract period by up to a further 2 additional years.
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. This is built into the contract and pricing mechanism. Within the contract, the Contracting Authority may purchase additional modular optional extra services which can be purchased over the term of the agreement.
No agreed KPIs: Not required for this value and due to the nature of contract.

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
12final-stage tenders	10	0	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Merseytravel

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PJQR-8469-DXQD 1 Mann Island, Liverpool, North West, L3 1BPContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 03183935GB-PPON: PHMY-4335-NRVD The Cube, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North East, NE4 6DBContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender25 Nov 2025, 13:40 GMT
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender31 Oct 2025, 10:34 GMT
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender23 Jun 2025, 16:09 BST