AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Oxford Brookes University has concluded a direct-award contract with EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC. for EBSCO database subscriptions covering 2026 to 2029.
Published outcomeOne active award and active contract are recorded for EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC. The contract was signed on 16 October 2026 and runs to 31 July 2029.
Market significanceThe £242,128 gross contract is an above-threshold direct award for proprietary database packages, with the buyer citing exclusive rights and technical reasons.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC.
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 242128 GBP · Active award; active contract
View supporting evidence
Verified supplier identity GB-COH-FC016134 is named on award 1. Contract 1, linked to award 1, has a gross value of £242,128. As this is a single-supplier, single-award procurement, the contract value is presented for this supplier.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete
View supporting evidence
Tender status is recorded as "complete".
Award status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Award 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceSigned on 16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 has dateSigned "2026-10-16".
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value
99% confidence£242,128 gross
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value is amountGross 242128 GBP.
Threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 is marked aboveThreshold: true.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Transparency notice published
98% confidence6 August 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records transparency notice 074487-2026 on 2026-08-06.
Contract award notice published
98% confidence6 August 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records contract award notice 074935-2026 on 2026-08-06.
Award date
98% confidence6 August 2026
View supporting evidence
Award record 1 gives award_date as 2026-08-06.
Contract signed
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-16.
Contract start
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-16.
Contract end
99% confidence31 July 2029
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period endDate is 2029-07-31.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence20 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract document 098989-2026 and release history record publication on 2026-10-20.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceProvision of various EBSCO databases from 2026 to 2029
View supporting evidence
Tender title and description state "EBSCO Database Subscriptions (2026-2029)" and "Provision of various EBSCO databases from 2026-2029".
Procurement category
99% confidenceGoods
View supporting evidence
Award 1 records mainProcurementCategory as "goods".
Classifications
98% confidenceJournals; subscription services; education and training services
View supporting evidence
Award item classifications list CPV 22211000, 79980000 and 80000000.
Delivery coverage
92% confidenceUnited Kingdom
View supporting evidence
Award item delivery address is recorded at UK level.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethodDetails is "Direct award".
Direct-award rationale
99% confidencePackages are proprietary to EBSCO
View supporting evidence
The published rationale states: "These packages are proprietary to EBSCO."
Rationale classifications
98% confidenceExclusive intellectual-property rights; technical reasons
View supporting evidence
Tender rationale classifications are "singleSuppliersIntellectualPropertyExclusiveRights" and "singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons".
Competition information
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice
View supporting evidence
No bid, participant or evaluation data is included in the supplied record.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidence16 October 2026 to 31 July 2029
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period runs from 2026-10-16 to 2029-07-31.
Performance metrics
96% confidenceNo agreed metrics recorded
View supporting evidence
Contract data states noAgreedMetricsRationale: "The contract value is below£5 million".
Extensions or options
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice
View supporting evidence
No extension or option terms are included in the supplied contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
98% confidenceSingle-supplier direct award for proprietary database packages
View supporting evidence
The award names one supplier and the direct-award rationale says the packages are proprietary to EBSCO.
Value interpretation
98% confidencePublished gross contract value of £242,128
View supporting evidence
The contract record provides amountGross only; no net value or pricing breakdown is supplied.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Notice completeness
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value
View supporting evidence
Lot 1 is listed as complete, but its title, description and value fields are null.
Commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice
View supporting evidence
No pricing breakdown, evaluation detail, bid count, award scoring, extension terms or individual database list is included in the supplied data.
Conflict-of-interest document
99% confidenceNot published
View supporting evidence
The tender documents list the conflictOfInterest document with description "Not published".
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bidder numbers, evaluation criteria or scores, pricing breakdown, detailed database list, and extension or renewal options.
- The conflict-of-interest document is marked "Not published".
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Oxford Brookes UniversityEBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC.EBSCO database subscriptionsdirect awardlibrary databasessubscription servicesFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Oxford Brookes EBSCO database subscription contract?
EBSCO INTERNATIONAL INC., verified under GB-COH company number FC016134, is named as the supplier for award 1.
What is the contract value?
The published gross contract value is £242,128.
Why was the contract directly awarded?
Oxford Brookes University states that the packages are proprietary to EBSCO, citing exclusive intellectual-property rights and technical reasons.
When does the contract run?
The contract was signed and started on 16 October 2026 and is scheduled to end on 31 July 2029.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.