Official UK procurement notice
Star Academies - Multifunctional Devices (MFDs) and Associated Products, Services and Support
Authority: Star Academies (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionStar Academies (Star) is a not-for-profit multi-academy trust. As one of the UK’s leading trusts, Star runs a diverse network of primary and secondary schools across the UK. Star currently comprises 36 schools - 11 primary schools, 23 secondary schools and two ‘all through’ schools. There is also a Head Office and Professional Development institute, both based in Blackburn. Our schools are located in five regional clusters: Lancashire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Greater London.
The trust is expected to grow over the lifetime of the contract. Further details about the trust can be found on our website: www.staracademies.org ↗.
Star Academies are looking to run an FTS (above threshold) competitive flexible procedure compliant under PA2023 to appoint a single suitable supplier across the trust. The supplier selected will be able to provide a complete service for the provision of multifunctional devices (MFD) and associated products, services and support in line with this PSQ and the final ITT documents.
Whilst the tender will be used as a basis for future works and pricing, the trust are looking to engage suppliers who will work collaboratively with us and tailor their approach, so that they are able to meet the specific needs of the trust.
This procurement also seeks to ensure that value for money is achieved for the trust and that the trust’s MFD assets are pro-actively managed, maintained and run in an efficient and consistent way across the entire estate.
The contract with the successful tenderer is intended to commence on 01 June 2026 and will be awarded for maximum of 5 years and the successful bidder will remain on the contract for this period subject to performance and company stability (i.e. the company not going into administration).
Star are looking to shortlist up to six (6) suppliers, identified from in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), to receive the ITT pack which will provide a more detailed set of requirements (The trust reserves the right to take more than six suppliers through to ITT where scores at PSQ are so close as to make it difficult to draw a distinction between bidders).Bidders should assume that the ITT will include, but not be limited to:
- General service requirements
- MFD standard hardware devices and functionality
- MFD Leasing and capital purchase arrangements
- Cloud based print management software
- MFD Maintenance, consumables, support and service provisions
- Device utilisation management
- Management information and reporting
The trust will provide a draft contract during the PSQ stage. Star’s preference is to engage with suppliers directly who will manage all aspects of the contract in house. If sub-contracts are required to meet the scope of this tender, these should be minimised. Any subcontracted arrangements must meet the same terms as the contract and will be the responsibility of the main supplier to manage.
- How the procedure runs: This will be a three-stage above threshold competitive flexible procedure with the intention of creating a contract with a single supplier. The objective of this competitive flexible procedure is to identify the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the assessment criteria and percentage weightings set out within both this PSQ document and the ITT document. Stage 1 - The Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) which will allow the trust to shortlist up to six (6) suppliers who meet the minimum requirements and score highest on the pricing, technical and competency questions in Part 3. The trust reserves the right to take more than six suppliers through to ITT where scores at PSQ are so close as to make it difficult to draw a distinction between bidders. Stage 2 - These shortlisted suppliers will progress to the second stage of the process, the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage where further technical capability will be tested along with more refined pricing. Stage 3 - Following ITT submissions and initial evaluations, the 3 highest scoring suppliers will commence a third stage where suppliers will have the opportunity to prepare a presentation (topic tbc at ITT stage) which will not be directly scored but will be used for further understanding and final moderation and scoring. Every supplier must meet the mandatory minimum requirements which are detailed in Parts 1 and 2. Any suppliers who do not meet these requirements will be deemed unsuccessful and will not be shortlisted for the ITT stage (Stage 2).
CPV: Computer-related services · Data analysis services · Laser printers · License management software package · Maintenance and repair of office machinery · Maintenance and repair of reprographic machinery · Maintenance of information technology software · Office machinery, equipment and supplies except computers, printers and furniture · Office-type offset printing machinery · Offset printing machinery · Photocopier maintenance services · Photocopier repair services · +6 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£8,000,000
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).
- Simple description: Full award criteria details are available on the document Star - PSQ - MFD 2026 Final which is freely available at https://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/educationportal/
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible 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
- 29 Jan 2026, 17:17 GMT
- Last source update
- 8 Jul 2026, 09:57 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 14 May 2026
- Authority reference
ITT/2026/MFD- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-008238- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-061271Find a Tender
- How it runs
This will be a three-stage above threshold competitive flexible procedure with the intention of creating a contract with a single supplier.
The objective of this competitive flexible procedure is to identify the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the assessment criteria and percentage weightings set out within both this PSQ document and the ITT document.
Stage 1 - The Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) which will allow the trust to shortlist up to six (6) suppliers who meet the minimum requirements and score highest on the pricing, technical and competency questions in Part 3. The trust reserves the right to take more than six suppliers through to ITT where scores at PSQ are so close as to make it difficult to draw a distinction between bidders.
Stage 2 - These shortlisted suppliers will progress to the second stage of the process, the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage where further technical capability will be tested along with more refined pricing.
Stage 3 - Following ITT submissions and initial evaluations, the 3 highest scoring suppliers will commence a third stage where suppliers will have the opportunity to prepare a presentation (topic tbc at ITT stage) which will not be directly scored but will be used for further understanding and final moderation and scoring.
Every supplier must meet the mandatory minimum requirements which are detailed in Parts 1 and 2. Any suppliers who do not meet these requirements will be deemed unsuccessful and will not be shortlisted for the ITT stage (Stage 2).
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 2 Mar 2026, 09:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 20 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
29 Jan 2026 → 8 Jul 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published266 days ago29 Jan 2026, 17:17 GMT
- Clarification questions by244 days ago20 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline235 days ago2 Mar 2026, 09:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent164 days ago12 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by161 days ago14 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends154 days ago21 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts144 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published107 days ago8 Jul 2026, 09:57 BST
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Jan 2026- Tender notice published29 Jan 2026, 17:17 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published12 May 2026, 11:48 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete12 May 2026, 11:48 BST
- Contract signature expected22 May 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published8 Jul 2026, 09:57 BSTUK7
- Procurement method changed8 Jul 2026, 09:57 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuvem Solutions Limited1 Jun 2026 – 31 Aug 2031 | £5,000,000 | 12 May 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Star Academies - Multifunctional Devices (MFDs) and Associated Products, Services and Support · Nuvem Solutions Limited
- Signed
- 9 Jun 2026
- Value
- £5,000,000
- Period
- 9 Jun 2026 – 31 Aug 2031
- Status
- active
3 agreed KPIs: Hardware Uptime · Software Uptime · Respond to all operational enquiries within 4 working hours
- Hardware Uptime, Target set at 99.6%
- Software Uptime, Target set at 99.6%
- Respond to all operational enquiries within 4 working hours, Target set at 95%
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 7 at stage one | 1 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonNuvem Solutions Limited · Yorkshire and the Humber
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Nuvem Solutions LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: https://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/educationportal/aspx/Home
- Signed contract
Notices 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