THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED wins Suffolk school transport award FR557

Tender information last checkedLast checked 19 Oct 2026, 15:32.

Opportunity overview

Suffolk County Council is seeking a mini competition against the following Dynamic Purchasing System: `The supply of Passenger Transport Services`, OJEU Notice Id: 2018/S 031-067685. FR557, 0900 2026-07-09, Parham - Great Glemham - Cransford - Thomas Mills High School & Sir Robert Hitcham CP School, Framlingham (36 seats) Further details can be found in the 'Tenders / My Tenders' area of this website, by selecting the 'View Details' button for this project. The deadline for returned submissions is 0900 2026-07-09. Please note late returns will NOT be permitted. The deadline for clarification questions is 0900 2026-07-07 which must be generated via the correspondence option on the website.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Thompsons Coaches Ltd

Matched by exact name

Published award value: £172.9k
Awarded: 9 Jul 2026
Award ID: ocds-b5fd17-64c422c2-6679-4950-98c2-7c35b4fe25f8-1
Status: active

Classification

CPV60000000 — Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Documents and notices

Awarded contract notice on Contracts FinderOpen source ↗

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id: IT-368-20404-FR557 - AWARD
Status: complete
Procurement Method Details: Not specified
Main Procurement Category: services

Classification

Scheme: CPV
Id: 60000000
Description: Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Tender Period

Ends: 9 Jul 2026, 09:00

Contract period

Starts: 1 Sept 2026, 01:00
Ends: 31 Jul 2029, 23:59

Suitability

Sme: No
Vcse: No

Items and delivery

Item 1

Id: 1

Delivery locations

Entry 1

Postal Code: IP1 2BX

Entry 2

Country Name: British Oversea Territories

Entry 3

Country Name: Channel Islands

Entry 4

Country Name: Europe

Entry 5

Country Name: Isle of Man

Entry 6

Country Name: Rest of the World

Entry 7

Country Name: United Kingdom

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1

Id: GB-CFS-154927
Name: Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport

Identifier

Legal Name: Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport

Address

Street Address: Russell Road, Ipswich
Locality: Suffolk
Postal Code: IP1 2BX
Country Name: United Kingdom

Contact

Name: Leila Riches
Email: Leila.Riches@suffolk.gov.uk
Telephone: 01473 265993

Details

Url: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/business/tenders-and-supplying-us ↗

Roles

buyer

Organisation 2

Id: GB-CFS-93760
Name: Thompsons Coaches Ltd

Identifier

Legal Name: Thompsons Coaches Ltd

Address

Street Address: 12 THE KNOLL, FRAMLINGHAM, FRAMLINGHAM, SUFFOLK, United Kingdom, IP13 9DH

Roles

supplier

Award information

Award 1

Id: ocds-b5fd17-64c422c2-6679-4950-98c2-7c35b4fe25f8-1
Status: active
Date: 10 Jul 2026, 00:00
Published: 10 Jul 2026, 10:45

Value

Amount: 172,881
Currency: GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1

Id: GB-CFS-93760
Name: Thompsons Coaches Ltd

Contract period

Starts: 1 Sept 2026, 00:00
Ends: 31 Jul 2029, 23:59

Documents

Entry 1

Id: 1
Document Type: awardNotice
Description: Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
Url: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cc08fb9b-f99f-4ad1-9b9a-c83e6bb32f51 ↗
Published: 10 Jul 2026, 10:45
Date Modified: 19 Oct 2026, 13:47
Format: text/html
Language: en

Recorded locations

Buyer location · Suffolk · IP1 2BX · United Kingdom
Delivery location · British Oversea Territories
Delivery location · Channel Islands
Delivery location · Europe
Delivery location · IP1 2BX
Delivery location · Isle of Man
Delivery location · Rest of the World
Delivery location · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION

cc08fb9b-f99f-4ad1-9b9a-c83e6bb32f51-918279Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder · 19 Oct 2026, 13:47

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport awarded FR557, a 36-seat school passenger transport service linking Parham, Great Glemham and Cransford with Thomas Mills High School and Sir Robert Hitcham CP School in Framlingham, to THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED.

Published outcome signals

Notice statusAwarded contract notice; source record complete; award status activeEvidence: Process display status is "awarded", source status is "complete", and the award status is "active".
Award decision date10 July 2026Evidence: Award record date: 2026-07-10T00:00:00+01:00.
Award notice publication10 July 2026Evidence: Award notice datePublished: 2026-07-10T10:45:29+01:00.

97% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed5 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source: Contracts Finder
Notice reference: cc08fb9b-f99f-4ad1-9b9a-c83e6bb32f51-918279
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-64c422c2-6679-4950-98c2-7c35b4fe25f8
First published: 19 Oct 2026
Last checked: 19 Oct 2026, 15:32
Notice versions reviewed: 1

View Contracts Finder notice ↗

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status: Approved for publication
Analysed: 19 Oct 2026

Read the analysis methodology →

AWARD OUTCOME

What happened

Published outcome

An active award of £172,881 was published for THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED. The notice gives a contract period from 1 September 2026 to 31 July 2029.

Market significance

This is a single-supplier school transport award made through a mini-competition under a passenger transport Dynamic Purchasing System.

AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS

1 supplier record analysed

THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED

99% confidence

Award ocds-b5fd17-64c422c2-6679-4950-98c2-7c35b4fe25f8-1 · 172881 GBP · Verified supplier; active award

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification identifies THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED (company number 04607949) by exact-name match. The sole award names Thompsons Coaches Ltd and has value £172,881.

LIFECYCLE

Award or contract stage

Notice status

99% confidence

Awarded contract notice; source record complete; award status active

View supporting evidence

Process display status is "awarded", source status is "complete", and the award status is "active".

Award decision date

99% confidence

10 July 2026

View supporting evidence

Award record date: 2026-07-10T00:00:00+01:00.

Award notice publication

99% confidence

10 July 2026

View supporting evidence

Award notice datePublished: 2026-07-10T10:45:29+01:00.

Contract signature

99% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

No signature or contract execution field is supplied.

VALUES

Published values explained

Award value

99% confidence

£172,881 GBP

View supporting evidence

The sole award value is amount 172881, currency GBP.

Value allocation

98% confidence

Allocated to the sole listed award and supplier

View supporting evidence

One award is supplied, with one named supplier and a value of £172,881.

TIMELINE

Procurement timeline

Clarification deadline

97% confidence

7 July 2026, 09:00 BST

View supporting evidence

Tender description states clarification questions were due by 0900 2026-07-07.

Submission deadline

99% confidence

9 July 2026, 09:00 BST

View supporting evidence

Tender period endDate and process submission deadline are 2026-07-09T09:00:00+01:00.

Award date

99% confidence

10 July 2026

View supporting evidence

Award date is 2026-07-10.

Contract start date

99% confidence

1 September 2026

View supporting evidence

Award and tender contract period startDate: 2026-09-01.

Contract end date

99% confidence

31 July 2029

View supporting evidence

Award and tender contract period endDate: 2029-07-31T23:59:59+01:00.

SCOPE

What was awarded

Service

98% confidence

School passenger transport service for 36 seats

View supporting evidence

Title describes the Parham–Great Glemham–Cransford service to Thomas Mills High School and Sir Robert Hitcham CP School, Framlingham, stating "(36 seats)".

Procurement category

99% confidence

Services; CPV 60000000 — Transport services (excl. waste transport)

View supporting evidence

Tender classification is CPV 60000000 and main procurement category is services.

Route and destinations

98% confidence

Parham, Great Glemham and Cransford to Thomas Mills High School and Sir Robert Hitcham CP School, Framlingham

View supporting evidence

Stated in the opportunity title and description.

PROCEDURE

Procedure and competition

Route to market

99% confidence

Mini-competition under the Dynamic Purchasing System for the supply of passenger transport services

View supporting evidence

Description states that Suffolk County Council sought a mini competition against "The supply of Passenger Transport Services" DPS, OJEU Notice 2018/S 031-067685.

Procurement method

99% confidence

Not specified in the published record

View supporting evidence

procurementMethodDetails is "Not specified".

Competition metrics

99% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

No bidder count, tender count, evaluation scores or ranking is supplied.

CONTRACT TERMS

Published contract terms

Contract period

99% confidence

1 September 2026 to 31 July 2029

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod specifies these dates.

Term length

95% confidence

Approximately 35 months

View supporting evidence

Calculated from the published start and end dates.

Extension or renewal options

99% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

No extension or renewal terms are supplied.

COMMERCIAL VIEW

Commercial observations

Award structure

99% confidence

Single award, single verified supplier

View supporting evidence

One award record and one supplier are supplied.

Demand indication

98% confidence

36-seat school transport requirement

View supporting evidence

The title specifies 36 seats.

Pricing insight

99% confidence

No pricing breakdown or unit-rate information published

View supporting evidence

Only the aggregate award value is supplied.

ANALYSIS QUALITY

97%overall confidence

Confidence reflects the completeness and consistency of the published award data.

Reference: ocds-b5fd17-64c422c2-6679-4950-98c2-7c35b4fe25f8
Analysed: 19 Oct 2026

APPROVED AWARD ANALYSIS

BUYER CONTEXT

Buyer context

Buyer

99% confidence

Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport

View supporting evidence

Named as buyer in the process and party data.

Buyer location

99% confidence

Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2BX, United Kingdom

View supporting evidence

Buyer party address.

SUPPLIER CONTEXT

Supplier context

Legal supplier identity

99% confidence

THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED (company number 04607949)

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification completed with exact-name match and verified company number 04607949.

Source supplier name

99% confidence

Thompsons Coaches Ltd

View supporting evidence

Award and source party data name the supplier "Thompsons Coaches Ltd".

Verification status

99% confidence

Verified; Companies House status reported as Active

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification status is verified, with lookup decision resolved and verified company status Active.

RENEWAL OUTLOOK

Renewal outlook

Estimated recompetition horizon

84% confidence

Around the published end date of 31 July 2029

View supporting evidence

This is an estimate based solely on the explicit contract end date; no renewal or extension mechanism is published.

DATA QUALITY

Gaps and source limitations

Publication safety

96% confidence

Suitable for publication with stated limitations

View supporting evidence

The award, supplier, value and contract period are consistently represented; no unsupported conclusion is made.

Location data quality

99% confidence

Delivery-location entries are broad and include multiple non-local geographies; the route description is the more specific scope evidence

View supporting evidence

Delivery addresses include British Oversea Territories, Channel Islands, Europe, Isle of Man, Rest of the World and United Kingdom, alongside IP1 2BX, while the title defines the Suffolk school route.

Unpublished procurement detail

99% confidence

Information not supplied in the published notice: bidder numbers, evaluation results, award rationale, pricing breakdown, lot allocation and extension terms

View supporting evidence

These fields are absent from the supplied record.

SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS

Information not supplied in the published notice

The published record does not evidence contract signature or execution; it supports an active award and published contract period only.
No bidder count, tender list, evaluation methodology, scores, award rationale or pricing breakdown is published.
No lot titles, lot allocations or individual lot values are supplied.
No extension, renewal or variation terms are published.
Delivery-location metadata is unusually broad and includes geographies outside the stated Suffolk route; it should not be treated as a precise delivery footprint.

MARKET THEMES

Relevant award themes

COMMON QUESTIONS

About this award

Who won the FR557 school transport award?

THOMPSONS COACHES LIMITED, verified under company number 04607949.

What is the published value of the award?

£172,881 GBP.

When does the published contract period run?

From 1 September 2026 to 31 July 2029.

What service does FR557 cover?

A 36-seat school passenger transport service from Parham, Great Glemham and Cransford to schools in Framlingham.

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.

FR557, 0900 2026-07-09, Parham - Great Glemham - Cransford - Thomas Mills High School & Sir Robert Hitcham CP School, Framlingham (36 seats) - AWARD

Opportunity overview

Awarded to

Thompsons Coaches Ltd

Classification

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Scope, procedure and submissions

Classification

Tender Period

Contract period

Suitability

Items and delivery

Delivery locations

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Identifier

Address

Contact

Details

Roles

Identifier

Address

Roles

Award information

Value

Suppliers

Contract period

Documents

Recorded locations

Notice and amendment history

Award intelligence at a glance

Published outcome signals

Traceable procurement data

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

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