AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Sunderland City Council awarded Forbes Solicitors LLP a contract for insurance claims handling legal services. The contract was signed and started on 16 October 2026 and is scheduled to end on 25 August 2030.
Published outcomeOne active award and one active contract are recorded for Forbes Solicitors LLP under lot 1.
Market significanceThis is a £300,000 net contract (£360,000 gross) for legal services, structured as a closed framework with a fixed-price period.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
FORBES SOLICITORS LLP
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 300000 GBP · active
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names FORBES SOLICITORS LLP as supplier; the linked contract 1 records a net value of GBP 300,000.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Market engagement published
98% confidence20 March 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records a Preliminary market engagement notice dated 2026-03-20.
Tender notice published
98% confidence15 May 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records a Tender notice dated 2026-05-15.
Award announced
98% confidence10 July 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records a Contract award notice dated 2026-07-10; award record 1 is active.
Contract signed
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 has dateSigned of 2026-10-16.
Contract start
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-16.
Contract end
99% confidence25 August 2030
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period endDate is 2030-08-25.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value (net)
99% confidence£300,000
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amount is 300000 GBP.
Contract value (gross)
99% confidence£360,000
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amountGross is 360000 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Published contract details notice
99% confidence21 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract document 099228-2026 was published on 2026-10-21.
Contract period
99% confidence16 October 2026 to 25 August 2030
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceProvision of insurance claims handling legal services
View supporting evidence
Process title and description state “Insurance Claims Handling Legal Services” and “Provision of Insurance Claims Handling Legal Services”.
Procurement category
99% confidenceLegal services (CPV 79100000)
View supporting evidence
Award item additional classification is CPV 79100000, Legal services.
Delivery area
95% confidenceUKC23
View supporting evidence
Award item delivery address region is UKC23.
Lot
99% confidenceLot 1; no published lot title or description
View supporting evidence
Award 1 and contract 1 relate to lot 1; the supplied lot record has no title or description.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethod is open and procurementMethodDetails is “Open procedure”.
Framework arrangement
98% confidenceClosed framework, with and without reopening competition
View supporting evidence
Tender techniques state hasFrameworkAgreement true, framework type closed, and method withAndWithoutReopeningCompetition.
Pricing structure
96% confidenceFixed-price framework period
View supporting evidence
Framework description states “Fixed price period of framework”.
Competition information
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
View supporting evidence
No bid count, bidder list, evaluation scores or award rationale is included in the supplied data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 status is active.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 aboveThreshold is true.
Term
99% confidence16 October 2026 to 25 August 2030
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period dates.
Extension options
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
View supporting evidence
No extension or option terms are present in the supplied contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Award structure
97% confidenceThe published data links one supplier, one award, one contract and one lot, allowing the contract value to be associated with Forbes Solicitors LLP.
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names one supplier and relates to lot 1; contract 1 links to award 1.
Commercial model
96% confidenceThe framework is described as closed with a fixed-price period and permits call-offs with and without reopening competition.
View supporting evidence
Tender framework agreement fields provide the type, description and method.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceVerified legal supplier identity available.
View supporting evidence
Supplier verification matched FORBES SOLICITORS LLP to company number OC433300 by company number.
Published notice chronology
99% confidenceThe award announcement predates the signed contract and later contract-details publication; the analysis treats these as distinct events.
View supporting evidence
Award notice date is 10 July 2026; contract signed/start date is 16 October 2026; contract details notice date is 21 October 2026.
Unpublished commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice includes bid numbers, evaluation results, award rationale, lot description, pricing breakdown and extension terms.
View supporting evidence
These fields are absent from the supplied opportunity, award, lot and contract records.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- No bid count, tenderer list, evaluation scores, award rationale or savings information was supplied.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
- No extension, renewal or option terms were supplied; the renewal timing is only an estimate based on the stated contract end date.
- No pricing breakdown beyond net and gross contract values was supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Sunderland City CouncilForbes Solicitors LLPinsurance claims handling legal serviceslegal services contractpublic procurementOC433300
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won Sunderland City Council's insurance claims handling legal services contract?
FORBES SOLICITORS LLP, verified against company number OC433300.
What is the contract value?
The contract value is £300,000 net and £360,000 gross.
When does the contract run?
It started on 16 October 2026 and is scheduled to end on 25 August 2030.
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.