AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
East Sussex County Council awarded a call-off for Bus Service 381, serving Westfield, Northiam, Staplecross and Robertsbridge Community College, to HAMS TOURS LIMITED. The published award value is £322,525 and the stated service period is 1 November 2026 to 20 April 2030.
Published outcomeOne active award was published following a call-off from the SCC, ESCC and WSCC Public Bus dynamic purchasing system.
Market significanceThis is a regional public-service bus contract valued at £322,525, with a stated term of about three and a half years.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
HAMS TOURS LIMITED
99% confidenceAward ocds-b5fd17-c1ff0a5b-2e4a-4e55-86be-22d355a6e4c1-1 · 322525 GBP · active award
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The award names source supplier "Hams Travel" and has value £322,525. Supplier verification matches company number 05900411 to HAMS TOURS LIMITED.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice status
99% confidenceAwarded contract notice; tender status complete and award status active
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The notice is titled "Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder"; tender status is "complete" and the award status is "active".
Award decision date
98% confidence29 September 2026
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The award record gives date "2026-09-29T00:00:00+01:00".
Contract/service period
99% confidence1 November 2026 to 20 April 2030
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The published contract period states startDate "2026-11-01T00:00:00Z" and endDate "2030-04-20T23:59:59+01:00".
VALUES
Published values explained
Published award value
99% confidence£322,525
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The award value is stated as amount 322525, currency GBP.
Value allocation
96% confidenceThe full published award value relates to the single published award and supplier.
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One award is published, with one supplier, HAMS TOURS LIMITED following identity verification.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Submission deadline
99% confidence16 September 2026, 12:00 BST
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The tender period end date is "2026-09-16T12:00:00+01:00".
Award date
98% confidence29 September 2026
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The award date is "2026-09-29T00:00:00+01:00".
Award notice publication
99% confidence13 October 2026
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The award notice datePublished is "2026-10-13T16:16:37+01:00".
Stated service start
99% confidence1 November 2026
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The contract period start date is "2026-11-01T00:00:00Z".
Stated service end
99% confidence20 April 2030
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The contract period end date is "2030-04-20T23:59:59+01:00".
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
99% confidenceBus Service 381: Westfield - Northiam - Staplecross - Robertsbridge Community College
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This is the published opportunity title.
Category
99% confidenceServices; CPV 34121100, Public-service buses
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The tender is classified as services with CPV 34121100, described as "Public-service buses".
Delivery area
94% confidenceSouth East, United Kingdom
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The tender item lists delivery region "South East" and country "United Kingdom".
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
99% confidenceSelective procedure; call-off from a dynamic purchasing system
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The notice states procurementMethod "selective" and procurementMethodDetails "Call-off from a dynamic purchasing system".
Framework/DPS context
99% confidenceCall-off from the SCC, ESCC and WSCC Public Bus DPS
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The published description states "Call off from SCC, ESCC and WSCC Public Bus DPS".
SME suitability
98% confidenceMarked suitable for SMEs
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The tender suitability field records sme as true.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Stated term
96% confidenceApproximately 3 years, 5 months and 19 days
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Calculated from the published period of 1 November 2026 to 20 April 2030.
VCSE suitability
98% confidenceNot marked suitable for VCSEs
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The tender suitability field records vcse as false.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route to market
99% confidenceThe award uses a public bus dynamic purchasing system rather than an open procedure.
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The published procedure details identify a DPS call-off and selective method.
Award structure
96% confidenceA single supplier received the single published award.
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The notice contains one award and names one supplier after supplier identity verification.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier name normalisation
99% confidenceThe source supplier name is "Hams Travel", while company-number verification identifies HAMS TOURS LIMITED as the legal supplier.
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The source party and award name Hams Travel; verified company number 05900411 maps to HAMS TOURS LIMITED, and nameMismatch is true.
Unpublished commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: bid count, evaluation scores, pricing breakdown, reasons for award, lot allocation, and extension terms.
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No such fields or documents are included in the supplied award data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The source supplier name differs from the verified legal company name: the notice uses "Hams Travel", while company-number verification identifies HAMS TOURS LIMITED.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes bid count, evaluation methodology or scores, award rationale, detailed pricing, lot titles or allocations, and extension or renewal options.
- The notice publishes an active award and stated service dates, but does not explicitly evidence contract signature.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Bus Service 381East Sussex County CouncilHAMS TOURS LIMITEDpublic-service busesdynamic purchasing systemContracts Finder
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Bus Service 381 contract?
The verified legal supplier is HAMS TOURS LIMITED (company number 05900411). The source notice names the supplier as Hams Travel.
What is the published value of the award?
The published award value is £322,525.
When is the stated service period?
The published period runs from 1 November 2026 to 20 April 2030.
What procurement route was used?
The notice describes a selective call-off from the SCC, ESCC and WSCC Public Bus dynamic purchasing system.
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.