AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Wolverhampton City Council awarded a £400,000 debt recovery and management systems services contract to MUCKLE LLP. The published award records an active award dated 28 September 2026, with a stated service period from 30 September 2026 to 29 September 2028.
Published outcomeAwarded to MUCKLE LLP under an active award record.
Market significanceA £400,000 local-authority legal and debt-recovery services opportunity covering pre-legal and legal debt recovery support, including data cleansing and propensity-to-pay activity.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
MUCKLE LLP
99% confidenceAward ocds-b5fd17-8a9ded34-603b-482b-b65a-372c7f95fa8f-1 · 400000 GBP · Verified legal supplier; active award
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The award names Muckle LLP as supplier. Supplier verification provides verified_company_name 'MUCKLE LLP', company number OC315403, with exact-name match and active company status.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
99% confidenceAwarded contract notice; source status complete
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Process display status is 'awarded'; notice type is 'Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder'; source status is 'complete'.
Award status
99% confidenceActive award
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Award ocds-b5fd17-8a9ded34-603b-482b-b65a-372c7f95fa8f-1 has status 'active'.
Award date
98% confidence28 September 2026
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The award record date is 2026-09-28T00:00:00+01:00.
Stated contract period
99% confidence30 September 2026 to 29 September 2028
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The award and tender contractPeriod state startDate 2026-09-30 and endDate 2028-09-29T23:59:59.
VALUES
Published values explained
Published award value
99% confidence£400,000
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The award value is 400000 GBP; the tender value is also 400000 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceSingle published award to MUCKLE LLP
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One award is supplied, naming one supplier, with a value of £400,000.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender submission deadline
98% confidence12 May 2026, 12:00 BST
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The tenderPeriod endDate is 2026-05-12T12:00:00+01:00.
Award date
98% confidence28 September 2026
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The award record date is 2026-09-28T00:00:00+01:00.
Stated service start
99% confidence30 September 2026
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The published contractPeriod startDate is 2026-09-30T00:00:00+01:00.
Stated service end
99% confidence29 September 2028
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The published contractPeriod endDate is 2028-09-29T23:59:59.
Award notice publication
99% confidence12 October 2026
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The award notice datePublished and process published_at are 2026-10-12T09:27:39+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Primary classification
99% confidenceCPV 79111000 — Legal advisory services
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The tender classification is CPV 79111000, described as Legal advisory services.
Service requirement
97% confidenceHigh-volume pre-legal and legal debt recovery services, supported by software for data cleansing and enhanced recovery activity
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The description calls for an external provider to undertake high-volume and varied debt work for pre-legal and legal services, using software for data cleansing and enhanced recovery rates.
Debt referral pathway
97% confidenceDebts may be referred after enforcement or external collection attempts are exhausted, for propensity-to-pay assessment and individually authorised legal stages or identification as irrecoverable
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The description specifies referral following exhausted collection attempts and describes propensity-to-pay assessment, authorised legal stages and irrecoverable debt identification.
Delivery geography
95% confidenceUnited Kingdom
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The tender item delivery address country is United Kingdom.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
93% confidenceMini competition under NEPO Legal Services, as stated in the opportunity title
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The process title includes 'Debt Recovery and Management Systems Mini Competition (NEPO Legal Services)'.
Procurement method
99% confidenceNot specified
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procurement_method_details is 'Not specified'.
Competition metrics
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information on bidder numbers, evaluation scores and other competition metrics was not supplied in the published notice data.
Supplier suitability flags
95% confidenceSME and VCSE suitability indicated
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The tender suitability fields show sme: true and vcse: true.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidenceApproximately two years
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The stated period runs from 30 September 2026 to 29 September 2028.
Extensions or options
99% confidenceUnknown
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No extension, option or renewal terms are supplied in the published notice data.
Contract conclusion evidence
98% confidenceThe source records an active award and a stated contract period; it does not explicitly state that a contract was signed
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The supplied record is an awarded contract notice with award status 'active' and contractPeriod dates, but contains no explicit signature or contract-conclusion field.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Demand focus
96% confidenceThe requirement combines legal debt recovery capability with data-led collection support
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The description references pre-legal and legal services, data cleansing, enhanced recovery rates and propensity-to-pay assessment.
Decision controls
95% confidenceLegal escalation is described as individually authorised
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The description states that debts may progress to individually authorised legal stages where appropriate.
Value interpretation
98% confidenceThe published £400,000 figure is the award value; no pricing structure or spend profile is disclosed
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The notice provides a single GBP award value but no rate card, payment mechanism, annual profile or pricing breakdown.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier verification
99% confidenceVerified
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The supplier identity workflow reports verified status, an exact-name match, verified company number OC315403 and active company status for MUCKLE LLP.
Lot detail
99% confidenceNo lots supplied
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The lots dataset is empty and the award contains no lot IDs.
Published commercial detail
99% confidenceLimited
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Information not supplied in the published notice includes pricing breakdown, evaluation outcomes, bidder numbers, award rationale and extension terms.
Contract execution status
98% confidenceNot explicitly evidenced
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The record supports an active award and stated period, but does not provide explicit evidence of signature.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The published data does not explicitly confirm that a contract was signed; it records an active award and a stated contract period.
- No lot structure or lot-level allocation is supplied.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes bidder numbers, evaluation criteria or scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown, payment mechanism, extension options and renewal terms.
- The estimated September 2028 re-procurement timing is derived only from the stated end date and is not a procurement forecast.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Wolverhampton City CouncilMUCKLE LLPdebt recovery serviceslegal advisory servicesNEPO Legal ServicesContracts Finder
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Wolverhampton debt recovery contract?
MUCKLE LLP is named as the supplier on the active award record.
What is the published value of the award?
The published award value is £400,000.
What services are covered?
The requirement covers pre-legal and legal debt recovery work, including data cleansing and propensity-to-pay activity.
When does the stated contract period end?
The published end date is 29 September 2028.
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.