AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Lancashire County Council, acting with other NoWcard member authorities, has published a pending award to SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED for a managed concessionary-travel smartcard system. The published award value is £1.2 million gross for lot 1, but the contract is not yet signed: the notice shows a standstill ending 16 October 2026 and a future signature date of 30 October 2026.
Published outcomePending award to SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED (company number 07205882) for lot 1.
Market significanceThe requirement covers an ITSO-compliant regional concessionary-travel platform, including HOPS, ISAM, cardholder/card management, online applications, and print and dispatch. It serves the NoWcard area across multiple North West authorities.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 1200000 GBP · Pending award
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Verified company name is supplied for company number 07205882. Award 1 identifies the source supplier as "South West Smart Applications Limited Trading as Smart Applications Management" and states a shared award value of £1,200,000 gross for lot 1.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
99% confidenceAward published; award status pending
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The process display status is "awarded", while award 1 is explicitly marked "pending".
Standstill period
99% confidenceEnds 16 October 2026, 23:59:59 BST
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Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate is 2026-10-16T23:59:59+01:00.
Planned signature
99% confidence30 October 2026
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Award milestone type futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-10-30T23:59:59Z.
Planned initial service start
98% confidence1 November 2026
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Award 1 contractPeriod.startDate is 2026-11-01T00:00:00Z.
VALUES
Published values explained
Published award value
99% confidence£1,200,000 gross
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 1200000 GBP.
Value allocation
95% confidenceAllocated to award 1 / lot 1
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Award 1 has relatedLots ["1"] and a £1.2m gross value. No further pricing or component breakdown is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender notice published
99% confidence7 May 2026
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Release history records tender notice 042091-2026 on 2026-05-07.
Tender deadline
99% confidence12 June 2026, 11:00 BST
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Process submission_deadline is 2026-06-12T11:00:00+01:00.
Award decision / assessment summaries sent
97% confidence7 October 2026
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Award date and assessmentSummariesDateSent are both 2026-10-07.
Award notice publication
99% confidence16 October 2026
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Award notice 097701-2026 was published at 2026-10-16T08:33:58+01:00.
Published initial end date
98% confidence31 October 2029
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Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate is 2029-10-31T23:59:59Z.
Maximum possible end date
98% confidence31 March 2034
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Award 1 contractPeriod.maxExtentDate is 2034-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceManaged NoWcard concessionary-travel smartcard system
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The notice title is "NoWcard Concessionary Travel System (Managed Service)".
Core system components
99% confidenceAMS/HOPS, ISAM management, ENCTS and commercial cardholder/card management, an online application portal, and print and dispatch
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These five components are specified in the published description.
Standards and classification
99% confidenceITSO-compliant system; CPV 48000000 software package and information systems
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The description requires ITSO compliance; award item 1 lists CPV 48000000.
Delivery geography
95% confidenceUKD region
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Award item 1 lists delivery address region UKD.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procurement using a competitive flexible procedure
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The process records procurementMethod "open" and procurementMethodDetails "Competitive flexible procedure".
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1)
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Tender and award data each identify lot 1 only.
Known tenderers
92% confidenceUNICARD LIMITED and South West Smart Applications Limited Trading as Smart Applications Management
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Both organisations are listed as tenderers in the published parties data.
Evaluation results
99% confidenceNot published
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No scores, rankings, bid prices, evaluation rationale, or award rationale are supplied.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term structure
97% confidenceUp to six months' implementation plus three years of annual managed services
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The renewal description states this initial contract-period structure.
Extension mechanism
98% confidenceThe authority may extend by defined periods, subject to a total term of no more than seven years and six months
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Award 1 renewal description states the maximum total duration.
Optional scope
97% confidenceAdditional managed services and associated goods and services for the future concessionary system may be purchased
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Award 1 options description provides for these optional purchases.
Contract execution status
99% confidenceNot evidenced as signed or concluded
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The award is pending and the notice contains a scheduled future signature date.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Market opportunity shape
94% confidenceA combined platform and managed-service requirement spanning smartcard infrastructure, customer application workflows, card administration, fulfilment, and optional additional services
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The published scope enumerates platform components and the options clause permits additional related services and goods.
Award maturity
99% confidenceSuppliers should treat this as a pending award rather than an active executed contract
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The stated standstill and future signature milestone follow the pending award status.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier-name difference handled
99% confidenceThe source award uses a trading-style name, while verified company-number matching identifies SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED as the legal supplier.
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Supplier verification confirms company number 07205882 and flags nameMismatch true.
Pending status
99% confidenceThe record does not establish a signed contract, despite being published as a contract award notice.
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Award status is pending and signature is scheduled for a future date.
Information not supplied in the published notice
98% confidenceNo individual pricing schedule, bid scores, award rationale, bidder ranking, contract signature confirmation, or detailed lot title/value is published.
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These fields are absent from the supplied award, lot, and process data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The award remains pending; the supplied data does not confirm that a contract has been signed, concluded, or commenced.
- The source supplier wording differs from the verified legal company name. Analysis uses the verified legal name, while retaining the source trading-style wording as evidence.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: evaluation methodology outcomes, scores, tender prices, ranking, award rationale, detailed pricing, detailed lot title, and contract signature confirmation.
- The £1.2m figure is a gross award value for award 1/lot 1; no component-level or optional-scope value allocation is published.
- Extensions and optional purchases are permitted, but neither their use nor their value is confirmed.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
NoWcardSOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITEDLancashire County Councilconcessionary travelsmartcard managed serviceITSOENCTSFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who has been selected for the NoWcard managed service?
The pending award identifies SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED (company number 07205882). The source notice uses the trading-style name South West Smart Applications Limited Trading as Smart Applications Management.
What is the published award value?
£1.2 million gross for award 1, associated with lot 1.
Has the NoWcard contract been signed?
The supplied data does not evidence signature. The award is pending, standstill ends on 16 October 2026, and a signature date is scheduled for 30 October 2026.
What does the service cover?
It covers an ITSO-compliant system including HOPS, ISAM management, cardholder and card management, an online application portal, and print and dispatch.
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.