AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Forestry Commission has concluded seven mowing-services contracts for Forestry England’s South England Forest District road and ride network. All seven lots were awarded to UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD, with contract data showing signatures and starts on 1 October 2026.
Published outcomeUPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD received separate active awards for lots 1–7: South Downs, Chiddingfold, Solent, Isle of Wight, Micheldever, Ringwood and Public Highway Works.
Market significanceThe seven contracts have a combined stated net value of £422,500 (gross £507,000) across initial three-year terms, with options that could extend each contract by up to two years. The notice does not state values for the extension periods.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
7 supplier records analysed
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots Lot 1 — South Downs · 100000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 1 names the supplier and relates to lot 1; contract 1 is titled South Downs, valued at £100,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 2 · Lots Lot 2 — Chiddingfold · 80000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 2 names the supplier and relates to lot 2; contract 2 is titled Chiddingfold, valued at £80,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 3 · Lots Lot 3 — Solent · 40000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 3 names the supplier and relates to lot 3; contract 3 is titled Solent, valued at £40,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 4 · Lots Lot 4 — Isle of Wight · 70000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 4 names the supplier and relates to lot 4; contract 4 is titled Isle of Wight, valued at £70,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 5 · Lots Lot 5 — Micheldever · 50000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 5 names the supplier and relates to lot 5; contract 5 is titled Micheldever, valued at £50,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 6 · Lots Lot 6 — Ringwood · 32500 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 6 names the supplier and relates to lot 6; contract 6 is titled Ringwood, valued at £32,500 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD
99% confidenceAward 7 · Lots Lot 7 — Public Highway Works · 50000 GBP · active; signed and started 1 October 2026
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Award 7 names the supplier and relates to lot 7; contract 7 is titled Public Highway Works, valued at £50,000 net, signed and started 2026-10-01.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Current record status
99% confidenceSeven active contracts
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All seven award and contract records are marked active.
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceSigned
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Each contract record gives dateSigned as 1 October 2026.
Contract start
99% confidence1 October 2026
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Each contract period starts on 2026-10-01.
Published contract details
99% confidence8 October 2026
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The Contract details notice was published on 2026-10-08.
VALUES
Published values explained
Combined stated net contract value
99% confidence£422,500
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Sum of the seven stated net contract values: £100,000, £80,000, £40,000, £70,000, £50,000, £32,500 and £50,000.
Combined stated gross contract value
99% confidence£507,000
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Sum of the seven stated gross contract values: £120,000, £96,000, £48,000, £84,000, £60,000, £39,000 and £60,000.
Value basis
98% confidenceIndividual contract values are stated as net and gross amounts; extension-period values are not supplied.
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Each contract has amount and amountGross fields, while no separate value is given for the optional extensions.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Preliminary market engagement notice
99% confidence15 April 2026
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Release history records a planning notice on 2026-04-15.
Tender notice
99% confidence11 June 2026
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Release history records a tender notice on 2026-06-11.
Award notice publication
99% confidence14 September 2026
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Release history records a Contract award notice on 2026-09-14.
Award dates
99% confidence14 September 2026 for awards 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7; 17 September 2026 for award 4
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Award records provide these award dates.
Contract signing and commencement
99% confidence1 October 2026
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All seven contract records state dateSigned and startDate of 2026-10-01.
Initial term end
99% confidence30 September 2029 for lots 1, 2 and 4–7; 1 October 2029 for lot 3
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Contract period end dates are stated in the seven contract records.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceGeneral vegetation maintenance on forest roads and rides within Forestry England’s South District.
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Tender description states that the contract fulfils general forest road/ride vegetation maintenance within the South District road and ride network.
Procurement structure
99% confidenceSeven lots, with one contractor assigned to each lot.
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Tender description states the requirement is split into seven lots and that only one contractor will be assigned to each lot.
Awarded areas
99% confidenceSouth Downs; Chiddingfold; Solent; Isle of Wight; Micheldever; Ringwood; Public Highway Works.
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The seven signed contract titles identify these areas/work categories.
Service classification
99% confidenceCPV 77230000 — Services incidental to forestry.
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Each award item carries CPV 77230000.
Delivery geography disclosed
98% confidenceUKJ is specified for lots 2, 3, 6 and 7; delivery geography is not supplied in the contract data for lots 1, 4 and 5.
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Delivery addresses are present only in award items 2, 3, 6 and 7.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethod is open and procurementMethodDetails is Open procedure.
Lotting approach
99% confidenceSuppliers could bid for an individual lot or a group of lots, subject to demonstrating capacity for all selected work.
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Tender description explicitly sets out individual or grouped lot bidding and the capacity requirement.
Competition outcome
99% confidenceOne verified supplier received all seven separate lot awards.
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Awards 1–7 each name UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD as supplier.
Bid and evaluation information
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidenceThree years
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Each renewal description states an intended three-year award period; contract periods run from 1 October 2026 to late September or 1 October 2029.
Extension option
99% confidenceUp to two further years
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Each contract has hasRenewal true and states an option to extend for a further two years.
Maximum term
99% confidenceFive years, subject to extension option
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Each renewal description states the maximum contract length will be five years; maximum end dates are in 2031.
Performance management
96% confidenceAnnual observation frequency is stated. Detailed measures in the South Downs contract cover meeting attendance, site-arrival/departure messaging, schedule management, machinery-breakdown reporting, specification conformity, schedule adherence, health and safety incident reporting, and biosecurity/fuel incident reporting.
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Contract 1 lists eight agreed metrics with observations every 12 months. Other contract records use abbreviated metric titles and do not reproduce detail.
Threshold status
99% confidenceEach contract is marked below threshold.
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All seven contract records set aboveThreshold to false.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Supplier concentration
99% confidenceAll seven lots were awarded to one verified SME supplier.
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Awards 1–7 each identify UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD; supplier details designate the supplier as an SME.
Portfolio value distribution
99% confidenceSouth Downs is the largest stated net contract at £100,000; Ringwood is the smallest at £32,500.
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Individual net values are stated in the contract records.
Capacity relevance
96% confidenceThe award outcome covers every lot despite the tender’s requirement for grouped-lot bidders to demonstrate capacity to deliver all selected work within the indicative timeframe.
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Tender description sets the capacity condition; all seven awards name the same supplier. The notice does not publish the supplier’s capacity evidence.
Operational emphasis
97% confidencePublished metrics indicate attention to schedule adherence, work-specification conformity, communications, safety and biosecurity reporting.
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Detailed South Downs metrics specify these areas and targets.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award and contract linkage
99% confidenceClear
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Each award has one related lot and each contract links to the corresponding award ID.
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceVerified
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The supplier has an exact-name verified match to UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD, company number 07425707.
Lot metadata limitation
99% confidenceLot titles and descriptions were not supplied as lot-level fields; contract titles have been used to identify the awarded areas.
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Lot records 1–7 have null title and description, while associated contracts have titles.
Information not supplied in the published notice
99% confidenceBidder numbers, tender prices, evaluation scores, award rationale, detailed pricing, and individual extension values are unknown.
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These fields are absent from the supplied notice data.
Metric detail limitation
99% confidenceOnly contract 1 contains detailed metric descriptions; contracts 2–7 use abbreviated 'As Contract 1' metric titles.
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Contract 1 lists full measures; the other contracts list abbreviated titles without descriptions.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot-level titles and descriptions are absent; awarded contract titles are used as the available identifiers for lots.
- Bid counts, tender prices, scoring, evaluation rationale and reasons for selection are not published in the supplied notice data.
- No separate values are stated for optional extension periods, so the published values should not be treated as maximum possible spend.
- Detailed performance metrics are fully published only for the South Downs contract; other contracts contain abbreviated references.
- Delivery regions are supplied only for awards 2, 3, 6 and 7.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Forestry Commission mowing servicesSouth England Forest DistrictUPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTDforestry vegetation maintenanceFind a Tender contract awardforest road maintenance
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the South England Forest District mowing services contracts?
UPTON SPECIALISED TREE SERVICES LTD, verified as company number 07425707, received all seven separate lot awards.
What is the stated value of the contracts?
The seven contracts have stated net values totalling £422,500 and gross values totalling £507,000. Extension-period values are not published.
When do the mowing services contracts run?
All began on 1 October 2026. Most initial terms end on 30 September 2029; the Solent contract ends on 1 October 2029. Each has an option to extend by up to two years.
What services are covered?
General vegetation maintenance on Forestry England forest roads and rides in the South District.
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.