Supply and Support of Automated Film Scanners

Official notice

Authority: Historic Environment Scotland

GoodsAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competitionSME suitable

Sectors: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) (38) Delivery: Scotland (UKM75)

Awarded value£493,0002 contracts · exc. VAT

Awarded 4 Sept 2026no call for competition

Awarded to Hartech Automation Limited2 awards

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency (VEAT) Notice relates to the intended procurement of five automated film scanners.

CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Historic Environment Scotland (HES) intends to award this contract under the…Awarded

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) intends to award this contract under the conditions of regulation 33.4.b(ii) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) regulations. The contract will be for the supply of five automated digitisation workstations, to be used by the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP), following the successful development of a prototype for the automated digitisation of pre-1970s aerial film.

Delivery: Scotland

Extensions: The Contracting Authority reserves the right to request additional deliveries by the Successful Tenderer, either intended as partial replacement of supplies or installations or as extensions of existing supplies and installations. The Contracting Authority may at it's sole discretion exercise this option.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached

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: Goods
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: 21 Jul 2026, 16:29 BST
Last source update: 9 Sept 2026, 11:37 BST
Authority reference: HES/C/4371
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-085315
Classification (CPV): Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
Delivery area: Scotland (UKM75)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06d035 Find a Tender

Why no open competition: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification: HES intends to award to the Supplier on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons. On the basis no scanning workstations are available in the marketplace for the automated digitisation of pre-1970s aerial film, a procurement exercise was undertaken by Historic Environment Scotland in 2024 for the development of a prototype bespoke solution. This resulted in a contract being awarded to the Supplier. In January 2025 the prototype workstation successfully passed acceptance testing by the NCAP team. The supply of the workstations can therefore only be provided by the supplier.

Publisher note: (SC Ref:842549)

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 2

Awarded value £493,0002 contracts exc. VAT

Bids received 11 from SMEs

Contracts signed 2latest 4 Sept 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Hartech Automation LimitedSME	£190,000 †	—	Awarded
Hartech Automation LimitedSME	£303,000 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 085315-2026-1 · Hartech Automation LimitedSME
Signed
4 Sept 2026
Value
£303,000
Status
active
Contract 068858-2026-1 · Hartech Automation LimitedSME
Signed
21 Jul 2026
Value
£190,000
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1bids · 1 electronic · 1 from abroad	1	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Historic Environment Scotland

Contracting authorityNational or federal agency/officeBuilt Environment, Tourism, Conservation Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 1SHContact email, phone

Dispute resolution & review bodies

Edinburgh Sheriff CourtReview body Edinburgh

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Hartech Automation LimitedAwarded supplier Washington Business Center, Turbine Way, Washington, North East, NSR5 3NZ

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.