Official UK procurement notice
TD2248 - Forensic Water Investigation Services
Authority: Derby City Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDerby City Council requires a contract for forensic water investigation services. Derby City Council intends to engage with Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd for a new contract to replace its existing agreement for the provision of water forensic services.
The council has published this VEAT notice and intends to award a contract to Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd following a 10 day standstill period from this notice and also subject to our budget
approval process.
The initial term will be three years duration with two options to extend by twelve months if required.
CPV: Investigation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Derby City Council currently has a contract for Forensic water investigation servicesAwarded
Derby City Council currently has a contract for Forensic water investigation services.
The council is proposing to contract with Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd who offer water forensic investigation services. This service is conducted by water surveyors and analysts who's primary service is to challenge water wholesalers and retailers over the way they have historically charged and are currently charging customers. Incorrect billing is an ongoing issue that Derby City Council want to tackle.
It is proposed to directly award a contract to Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd without prior publication of a call for competition in the official journal of the European Union. In taking this route
to market the Council hereby issue this VEAT notice. The contract term will be three years with two optional one year extensions if required.
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
- Services
- 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
- 19 Feb 2025, 15:27 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Mar 2025, 10:48 GMT
- Authority reference
TD2248- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-007778- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04e430Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in OJEU, as the procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive. The council is proposing to contract with Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd for Forensic water investigation services as this is the only contractor that can provide this level of service.
The council requires forensic water investigation services. Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd can offer a high level of service and have developed an understanding of the property portfolio. To change supplier now would impact ongoing appeals. The service offered exceeds other suppliers, entering the largest amount of technical water claims in the UK market. They are different to other competitors as they challenge on three fronts -
technical, policy and legal. This includes the following:
•Cadantis provide a full forensic service and do not just focus on bill validation works.
•Using specialist knowledge of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980, Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Water Industry Act 1991 (and prior Acts), sewers for adoption, sewerage and drainage law, water company charging policy and schemes of charges to achieve the largest refunds for clients.
•They have informal precedents set with Severn Trent Water which means they can in most cases force them to refund outside of their standard policy. An example includes the water company attempting to limit the refund to one year as per their internal
policy but Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd would challenge for full restitution.
•Cadantis Forensics has a 98% record of success when they go to appeal.
•All accounts managers are ex water company employees and therefore have a wealth of water industry knowledge.
It is proposed to directly award a contract to Cadantis Forensics without prior publication of a call for competition in the official journal of the European Union. In taking this route to market the
Council hereby issue this VEAT notice. The contract term will be three years with two optional one year extensions if required. The Council will observe a 10 day standstill period.
- Review procedure
The Council will observe a 10 day standstill period and also subject to our budget approval
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Buyer details updated4 Mar 2025, 10:48 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd | £317,000 †same award published again · counted once | — | Awarded |
| Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd | £65,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
TD2248 - Forensic Water Investigation Services · Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd
- Signed
- 19 Feb 2025
- Value
- £317,000
- Status
- active
TD2248 - Forensic Water Investigation Services · Cadantis Forensics Associates Ltd
- Signed
- 19 Feb 2025
- Value
- £65,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeBidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Cadantis Forensics Associates LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.