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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Legal Services Framework

NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED · Contract details notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 4 Oct 2026, 18:18.

Opportunity overview

National Energy System Operator (NESO) is awarding a framework agreement under competitive flexible procedure across a full range of legal services to support NESO's requirements and activities. Suppliers will partner with the internal NESO Legal team to provide high quality advice and support NESO to meet its objectives. The framework agreement is split into 2 Lots and amounts to £30.5m (including VAT): LOT 1 - Energy Regulation & Frameworks Advising on all aspects of the United Kingdom (UK) and, where relevant, European Union (EU) regulatory regimes and frameworks for gas and electricity, including sector-specific European legislation and rules (where relevant) and Great Britain (GB) primary and secondary legislation that impacts on or are relevant to the business activities of NESO (licensed and unlicensed). This includes: 1. Advising on the specific rules applicable to NESO, as well as on the regimes applicable to other sector participants including transmission networks, distribution networks, interconnectors, generators, storage and suppliers as are or may be relevant to NESO's activities. 2. Advising on matters relating to the interaction of the UK and EU regulatory regimes with the gas and electricity arrangements, including relationships with European institutions such as ENTSO-E and ENTSOG. 3. Advising on any innovation matters that arise as the gas and electricity markets and regulatory regimes develop. 4. Advising on all matters relating to the compliance with the UK and EU regulatory regimes for electricity and gas and how they impact on all the activities of NESO in Great Britain, including the impact on contractual arrangements NESO has with third parties. 5. Advising on the specific legal framework applicable to NESO as the designated independent system operator and planner under the Energy Act 2023 including: 5.1 Advising on the application of NESO's general statutory duties to its activities, including its duty to have regard to the Strategy and Policy Statement. 5.2 Advising NESO on the use of its power to request information. 5.3 Advising on NESO's independence requirements and requirements relating to conflict of interest. 6. Advising on the sector specific commercial arrangements relevant to NESO's energy activities, as set out in further detail below. More specific areas within Lot 1 are detailed below - no subcontracting is allowed cross Lot 1 disciplines: 1 Electricity/ gas codes 2 Electricity connections 3 Balancing services (electricity) 4 Electricity interconnectors 5 Electricity Market Reform 6 Network competition 7 Gas markets 8 Developing/adapting to new energy legal frameworks 9 Licence change, investigations and other regulatory issues 10 Public Investigation and inquiry processes 11 Planning and major infrastructure projects 12 Information management (energy) 13 Public Law (energy) 14 Competition law and dawn raids (energy) 15 Litigation (energy) The requirements for advice and support set out in this Lot 1 relate to both non-contentious and contentious matters unless expressly stated otherwise. LOT 2 - GENERAL SERVICES This lot includes advising NESO on all corporate and commercial aspects of its operations to support its organisational functions, taking into account NESO's status as a public corporation. More specific areas within Lot 1 are detailed below -subcontracting permitted only for specific Lot 2 disciplines (Trademark & Patent Services, Pensions, and Insurance): 1 General commercial and transactions 2 Public procurement 3 Technology expertise (including Cyber Security, AI, ICT & IoT) 4 Innovation 5 Commercial property/ construction 6 Corporate 7 Finance 8 Intellectual Property (including trademark and patent services) 9 Health, safety and environmental 10 Employment 11 Pensions 12 Insurance (including insurance claims) 13 Information Management (non-energy) 14 Public Law (non-energy) 15 Competition law & dawn raids (non-energy) 16 Litigation (non-energy) The requirements for advice and support set out in this Lot 2 relate to both non-contentious and contentious matters unless expressly stated otherwise. Individual workpackages will be awarded to suppliers based on the call-off mechanism detailed in the framework agreement.

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.

ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£16.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£19.8m
Suppliers
One of 5 awarded suppliers
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC318149
Location
London, UKI31, EC2R 7HG, United Kingdom
Shared contract value
£16.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£19.8m
Suppliers
One of 5 awarded suppliers
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC322045
Location
London, UKI43, EC4M 7WS, United Kingdom

DLA PIPER UK LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£16.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£19.8m
Suppliers
One of 5 awarded suppliers
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC307847
Location
London, UKI31, EC1A 4HT, United Kingdom

GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£16.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£19.8m
Suppliers
One of 5 awarded suppliers
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC304378
Location
London, UKI44, SE1 2AU, United Kingdom

SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£16.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£19.8m
Suppliers
One of 5 awarded suppliers
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC319029
Location
Birmingham, UKG31, B4 6AA, United Kingdom

ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£8.9m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£10.7m
Suppliers
One of 4 awarded suppliers
Award ID
2
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC318149
Location
London, UKI31, EC2R 7HG, United Kingdom
Shared contract value
£8.9m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£10.7m
Suppliers
One of 4 awarded suppliers
Award ID
2
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC322045
Location
London, UKI43, EC4M 7WS, United Kingdom

DLA PIPER UK LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£8.9m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£10.7m
Suppliers
One of 4 awarded suppliers
Award ID
2
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC307847
Location
London, UKI31, EC1A 4HT, United Kingdom

TLT LLP

Matched by number
Shared contract value
£8.9m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jan 2026
Including VAT
£10.7m
Suppliers
One of 4 awarded suppliers
Award ID
2
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH OC308658
Location
Bristol, UKK11, BS1 6TP, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated
  • Lot 2Value not stated

Documents and notices

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
ocds-h6vhtk-052237
Status
complete
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

utilities

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Framework Agreement

Method
withAndWithoutReopeningCompetition
Type
closed
Description
NESO has the right to source Services through this agreement via: 1. direct award of Services by following the process set out in clause 4.2; or 2. conduct a mini competition for the Services in accordance with the process set out in clause 4.3 Direct award of Services will generally apply to Services where the total Charges are expected to be at the Direct Award Threshold (£215,000 excluding VAT). The Customer may, however, elect to follow the mini-competition process for any award of Services even when total Charges are expected to be below the Direct Award Threshold. The Customer will conduct a mini competition for Services where the total Charges are expected to be in excess of the Direct Award Threshold (£215,000 excluding VAT), except where urgency makes this impractical in the Customer's reasonable opinion. Each competitive allocation will have its own weighting between technical, commercial & social value (wherever applicable), which will be pre-determined by NESO prior to the launch of the competitive event.

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete
Entry 2
Id
2
Status
complete

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED
Id
GB-COH-11014226

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
11014226

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PHQL-5234-MWWV

Address

Street Address
St Catherine's Lodge Bearwood Road
Locality
Wokingham
Postal Code
RG41 5BN
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ11

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicUndertaking
Description
Public undertaking
Organisation 2
Name
ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC318149

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC318149

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PRWH-7564-XRYD

Address

Street Address
41 Lothbury
Locality
London
Postal Code
EC2R 7HG
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI31

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No
Organisation 3
Name
DLA PIPER UK LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC307847

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC307847

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PMPT-8255-CHYG

Address

Street Address
160 Aldersgate Street
Locality
London
Postal Code
EC1A 4HT
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI31

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No
Organisation 4
Name
DENTONS UK AND MIDDLE EAST LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC322045

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC322045

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PTDT-5345-RQMP

Address

Street Address
One Fleet Place
Locality
London
Postal Code
EC4M 7WS
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI43

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No
Organisation 5
Name
SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC319029

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC319029

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PXPX-4658-DTQQ

Address

Street Address
No 1 Colmore Square
Locality
Birmingham
Postal Code
B4 6AA
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKG31

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No
Organisation 6
Name
GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC304378

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC304378

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PMTV-6479-YMNX

Address

Street Address
4 More London Riverside
Locality
London
Postal Code
SE1 2AU
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI44

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No
Organisation 7
Name
TLT LLP
Id
GB-COH-OC308658

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
OC308658

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PHZR-1968-PDCV

Address

Street Address
One Redcliff Street
Locality
Bristol
Postal Code
BS1 6TP
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKK11

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
active
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
79100000
Description
Legal services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-OC318149
Name
ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP
Supplier 2
Id
GB-COH-OC307847
Name
DLA PIPER UK LLP
Supplier 3
Id
GB-COH-OC322045
Name
DENTONS UK AND MIDDLE EAST LLP
Supplier 4
Id
GB-COH-OC319029
Name
SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU LLP
Supplier 5
Id
GB-COH-OC304378
Name
GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP

Related lots

1
Award 2
Id
2
Status
active
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

Item 1
Id
2
Related Lot
2

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
79100000
Description
Legal services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-OC318149
Name
ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP
Supplier 2
Id
GB-COH-OC322045
Name
DENTONS UK AND MIDDLE EAST LLP
Supplier 3
Id
GB-COH-OC307847
Name
DLA PIPER UK LLP
Supplier 4
Id
GB-COH-OC308658
Name
TLT LLP

Related lots

2

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
1
Award ID
1
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Has Options
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Date Signed
30 Jan 2026, 00:00

Period

Starts
30 Jan 2026, 00:00
Ends
30 Jan 2029, 23:59
Max Extent Date
30 Jan 2031, 23:59

Renewal

Description
NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term

Options

Description
Any adjustment in the requirements will be subject to the Change Control Procedure.

Value

Including VAT
19,800,000
Amount
16,500,000
Currency
GBP

Documents

Entry 1
Id
A-12610
Document Type
contractSigned
Format
application/x-zip-compressed
Entry 2
Id
017069-2026
Document Type
contractNotice
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Published
25 Feb 2026, 16:20
Format
text/html
Entry 2
Id
2
Award ID
2
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Has Options
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Date Signed
30 Jan 2026, 00:00

Period

Starts
30 Jan 2026, 00:00
Ends
30 Jan 2029, 23:59
Max Extent Date
30 Jan 2031, 23:59

Renewal

Description
NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term

Options

Description
Any adjustment in the requirements will be subject to the Change Control Procedure.

Value

Including VAT
10,700,000
Amount
8,900,000
Currency
GBP

Documents

Entry 1
Id
A-12612
Document Type
contractSigned
Format
application/x-zip-compressed
Entry 2
Id
017069-2026
Document Type
contractNotice
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Published
25 Feb 2026, 16:20
Format
text/html

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Wokingham · UKJ11 · RG41 5BN · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 003658-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 017069-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender ·