AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council awarded and signed a contract with UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTD to deliver a PEACEPLUS programme of seven cross-community projects, one in each District Electoral Area.
Published outcomeOne active award (lot 1) is linked to UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTD. The contract record states it was signed on 10 September 2026 and runs to 31 August 2027.
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold, open-competition services contract with a stated net value of £68,480 and gross value of £82,176.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTD
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £68,480 net / £82,176 gross contract value; no supplier-specific allocation issue arises because the contract names one supplier. GBP · Verified supplier; award and contract are active in the source data.
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names supplier GB-COH-NI653837. Supplier verification confirms company number NI653837 and verified company name UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTD. Contract 1 is linked to award 1.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Tender notice published
99% confidence3 July 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history records tender notice 062874-2026 published 2026-07-03.
Competition deadline
99% confidence5 August 2026, 12:00 BST
View supporting evidence
Process submission_deadline is 2026-08-05T12:00:00+01:00.
Contract signed
99% confidence10 September 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 has dateSigned 2026-09-10T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period
99% confidence10 September 2026 to 31 August 2027
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period states startDate 2026-09-10 and endDate 2027-08-31.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence9 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract document 095638-2026 and release history give publication date 2026-10-09.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value, excluding VAT
99% confidence£68,480
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amount is 68480 GBP.
Contract value, including VAT
99% confidence£82,176
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amountGross is 82176 GBP.
Published opportunity maximum value
90% confidence£70,304.80
View supporting evidence
Process value_max is 70304.8 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender notice
99% confidence3 July 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history.
Submission deadline
99% confidence5 August 2026, 12:00 BST
View supporting evidence
Process submission_deadline.
Signature and stated start date
99% confidence10 September 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 dateSigned and period.startDate.
Stated end date
99% confidence31 August 2027
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period.endDate.
Estimated renewal review point
70% confidenceBy 31 August 2027
View supporting evidence
Estimate calculated solely from the explicit contract end date; no extension or renewal mechanism is published.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Programme purpose
98% confidenceSeven standalone cross-community projects, one in each District Electoral Area, aimed at engaging people and communities less involved in peacebuilding, including those living in or affected by contested spaces.
View supporting evidence
Tender description.
Delivery approach
98% confidenceStructured contact, facilitated dialogue and capacity building to strengthen relationships, empower communities and develop shared visions for local areas.
View supporting evidence
Tender description.
Service classifications
99% confidenceRecreational, cultural and sporting services; education and training services; other community, social and personal services; health and social work services.
View supporting evidence
Award item additional CPV classifications: 92000000, 80000000, 98000000 and 85000000.
Delivery geography
90% confidenceUnited Kingdom
View supporting evidence
Award item delivery address specifies region UK, country GB.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen competition, below threshold
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethod is open and procurementMethodDetails is 'Below threshold - open competition'.
Regime
99% confidenceLight-touch regime
View supporting evidence
Tender specialRegime includes lightTouch.
Lots
99% confidenceOne lot (lot 1)
View supporting evidence
Tender lists lot 1; award 1 and contract 1 are linked to it.
Bidder and evaluation information
99% confidenceUnknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 status is active.
Signature date
99% confidence10 September 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 dateSigned.
Term
99% confidence10 September 2026 to 31 August 2027
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period.
VAT treatment
99% confidencePublished values provide £68,480 excluding VAT and £82,176 including VAT.
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amount and value.amountGross.
Extension or renewal options
99% confidenceUnknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Award structure
99% confidenceA single verified supplier holds the sole published award for the single lot.
View supporting evidence
One award, one supplier and one related lot are recorded.
Value comparison
97% confidenceThe published gross contract value (£82,176) is higher than the opportunity maximum value field (£70,304.80), while the net contract value (£68,480) is lower.
View supporting evidence
Process value_max is £70,304.80; contract amount is £68,480 and amountGross is £82,176. The notice does not state whether the opportunity maximum is VAT-inclusive or VAT-exclusive.
Market-entry signal
99% confidenceThe procurement used an open, below-threshold competition under the light-touch regime.
View supporting evidence
Tender procurement method, detail and special regime fields.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award and contract evidence
99% confidenceThe source includes an active award and an active contract with an explicit signature date and contract period.
View supporting evidence
Award 1 status active; contract 1 status active, dateSigned and period are supplied.
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceSupplier identity is verified by company-number match to NI653837.
View supporting evidence
Supplier verification status is verified; match method is company_number.
Value-basis ambiguity
99% confidenceThe opportunity maximum value is £70,304.80, but its VAT basis is not supplied; it should not be directly treated as equivalent to either published contract value.
View supporting evidence
Process value_max is supplied with value_basis null; contract separately supplies net and gross amounts.
Unpublished competition detail
98% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: award decision date, bid count, bidder identities, evaluation scores, pricing breakdown and award rationale.
View supporting evidence
No such fields are present in the supplied notice data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The opportunity maximum value (£70,304.80) has no published value basis, whereas the contract reports separate net and gross values; the figures cannot be treated as directly comparable without qualification.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: award decision date, bid count, bidder identities, evaluation methodology or scores, award rationale, detailed pricing, lot title, lot-specific description, and extension or renewal terms.
- The delivery address is published only at United Kingdom level; specific delivery locations are not supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTDNewry Mourne and Down District CouncilNMDDCPEACEPLUScross-community relationshipscollaborative interaction programmepublic contractNI653837
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the PEACEPLUS Collaborative Interaction Programme contract?
UTOPIAN TRAINING SOLUTIONS LTD, verified under company number NI653837, is the sole published supplier for award 1.
What is the contract value?
The published contract value is £68,480 excluding VAT and £82,176 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The contract states a start date of 10 September 2026 and an end date of 31 August 2027.
Was the contract signed?
Yes. The contract record explicitly gives a signature date of 10 September 2026.
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.