AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board directly awarded Tecnosens S.p.A. a contract for livestock methane measuring devices (“Sniffers”) and associated maintenance/services. The published contract record states it was signed on 20 January 2026 and started on 21 January 2026.
Published outcomeOne active award (award ID 1) covers lot 1. The contract value is EUR 246,260 excluding VAT (EUR 295,512 gross).
Market significanceThis is a specialised agricultural-technology procurement. AHDB cites technical reasons for a single-supplier direct award after a September 2025 market review of commercially available TRL 9 methane-sniffer systems.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
Tecnosens S.p.A.
98% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 246260 EUR · active
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Award 1 names Tecnosens S.p.A. as supplier and is linked to lot 1. The EUR 246,260 value is recorded at contract level for contract 1 linked to award 1.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete
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Tender status is recorded as “complete”.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 is recorded with status “active”.
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 is recorded with status “active”.
Contract signature
99% confidence20 January 2026
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Contract 1 includes dateSigned: 2026-01-20.
Contract start
99% confidence21 January 2026
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Contract period startDate is 2026-01-21.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidenceEUR 246,260
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Contract 1 value.amount is 246260 and currency is EUR.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidenceEUR 295,512
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 295512 and currency is EUR.
Value allocation
98% confidenceThe published contract value is linked to award 1 and lot 1.
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Contract 1 links to awardID 1; award 1 is linked only to lot 1.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Market review referenced by buyer
93% confidenceSeptember 2025
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The direct-award rationale states that a market review of methane sniffer technologies was conducted in September 2025.
Award record date
93% confidence8 January 2026
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Award 1 is recorded with award_date 2026-01-08.
Award/contract release published
94% confidence8 January 2026
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Release history records release 001411-2026 at 2026-01-08T11:49:26Z, tagged award and contract.
Contract signed
99% confidence20 January 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-01-20.
Contract start
99% confidence21 January 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-01-21.
Initial contract end
99% confidence31 March 2028
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Contract 1 period endDate is 2028-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence31 March 2029
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Contract 1 period maxExtentDate is 2029-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract document 097025-2026 records datePublished 2026-10-14T13:45:24+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceLivestock methane measuring devices (“Sniffers”) and associated services, including maintenance.
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Procurement title and description state provision of livestock measuring devices and associated services such as maintenance.
Procurement category
99% confidenceGoods
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is “goods”.
Classifications
99% confidenceSpecialist agricultural or forestry machinery (CPV 16600000); agricultural services (CPV 77100000).
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Award item 1 lists these CPV classifications.
Delivery geography
98% confidenceUnited Kingdom
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Award item delivery address is region UK, country GB.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1).
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Tender data lists lot 1; award 1 and contract 1 are linked to it.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is “Direct award”.
Direct-award rationale
99% confidenceSingle supplier for technical reasons.
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The notice classifies the rationale as singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons.
Buyer-stated technical requirements
97% confidenceThe review assessed accuracy and repeatability, IP65 dust/water resistance, durability in dairy housing, UK operating-temperature stability, low maintenance/recalibration needs, online support, and remote monitoring/data integration.
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These requirements are listed in the procurementMethodRationale.
Buyer-stated basis for supplier selection
96% confidenceAHDB states that the products were the only option meeting the full set of essential requirements tested and proven for harsh cattle-shed environments.
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ProcurementMethodRationale states this conclusion.
Competition information
98% confidenceNo bid count, bidder list, evaluation scores or comparative pricing information supplied in the published notice.
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No such fields are present in the supplied record.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence21 January 2026 to 31 March 2028
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Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
Extension option
99% confidenceOption to extend for a further 12-month period.
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Contract 1 hasRenewal is true and renewal description states this option.
Maximum term endpoint
99% confidence31 March 2029
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Contract 1 maxExtentDate is 2029-03-31.
Performance metrics
98% confidenceNo agreed metrics; rationale states the procurement is primarily for goods.
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Contract 1 noAgreedMetricsRationale states “Primarily goods purchased”.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Contract 1 aboveThreshold is true.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route-to-market observation
98% confidenceThe direct award was supported by a buyer-stated technical single-supplier rationale rather than an openly competed procedure.
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Tender records a direct award and single-supplier technical-reasons classification.
Technology maturity requirement
94% confidenceThe buyer states it considered commercially available systems at Technology Readiness Level 9 for commercial farm deployment.
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This is stated in the direct-award rationale.
Service opportunity context
94% confidenceMaintenance, online technical support, remote monitoring and data integration were identified in the notice as relevant to the requirement.
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The procurement description includes associated services such as maintenance; rationale cites support and remote monitoring/integration requirements.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity
97% confidenceSupplier identity is reported from the published Find a Tender record; Companies House verification is not applicable to this Italian supplier.
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supplier_identity_status is “not_applicable”; supplier country is Italy.
Notice timing
99% confidenceThe contract details notice was published on 14 October 2026, after the stated January 2026 award, signature and start dates.
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Release history and contract document show 14 October 2026 publication; award_date is 8 January 2026, dateSigned is 20 January 2026, and startDate is 21 January 2026.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or standalone value.
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Lot 1 title, description and value fields are null.
Information not supplied in the published notice
98% confidenceTender deadline, bid count, bidder identities, evaluation scoring, pricing breakdown, detailed quantities and further service specifications are not supplied.
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These fields are absent or null in the supplied record.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or standalone value.
- No tender deadline, bid count, bidder identities, evaluation scoring, pricing breakdown, quantities or detailed service specification is supplied.
- The source does not provide a comparative technical assessment or independently evidenced explanation of why alternatives did not meet requirements.
- The contract details notice was published after the stated award, signature and commencement dates.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
AHDBTecnosens S.p.A.livestock methane measuring devicesmethane sniffersagricultural technologydirect awardEUR 246260
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the AHDB livestock methane sniffer contract?
Tecnosens S.p.A. is named as supplier for award 1 and lot 1.
What is the contract value?
The contract value is EUR 246,260 excluding VAT, with EUR 295,512 recorded including VAT.
Was the contract directly awarded?
Yes. The notice records a direct award based on buyer-stated single-supplier technical reasons.
When does the contract end?
The initial end date is 31 March 2028. A 12-month extension option could take the maximum end date to 31 March 2029.
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.