AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Department for Business & Trade has announced a direct award to British Film Commission for Los Angeles-based representation promoting UK film and high-end television investment. The award is pending: the notice schedules signature after the standstill period, so this should not be treated as a signed or active contract.
Published outcomePending direct award to British Film Commission, valued at £200,000 excluding VAT (£240,000 including VAT).
Market significanceThis is a specialist, above-threshold public-services award made without competition. DBT states that the British Film Commission’s sector role, US industry relationships and production-support capability justified the direct award.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
British Film Commission
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £200,000 excluding VAT; £240,000 including VAT GBP · Pending awardee
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Award 1 names British Film Commission as its sole supplier and gives amount £200,000 and amountGross £240,000; award status is pending.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete procurement record; award remains pending
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Tender and lot status are "complete", while award 1 is explicitly "pending".
Award position
99% confidenceAward announcement/decision, not evidenced as signed
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Award 1 has status "pending" and includes a scheduled future signature date of 26 October 2026.
Standstill period
99% confidenceScheduled to end 26 October 2026, 23:59:59 UTC
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Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate is 2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00.
Planned contract period
98% confidence27 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod gives startDate 2026-10-27T00:00:00+00:00 and endDate 2027-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value excluding VAT
99% confidence£200,000
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Award 1 value.amount is 200000 GBP.
Award value including VAT
99% confidence£240,000
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 240000 GBP.
Value allocation
93% confidenceAward-level value for the sole named supplier and lot 1
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Award 1 names one supplier and relates to lot 1; no separate lot value is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Transparency notice released
98% confidence1 October 2026
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Release history records transparency notice 092708-2026 on 2026-10-01.
Award date
99% confidence1 October 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-10-01T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract award notice published
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Award notice 097528-2026 is dated 2026-10-15T14:27:36+01:00.
Scheduled signature date
99% confidence26 October 2026
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Award milestone futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00.
Planned service start
98% confidence27 October 2026
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Award 1 contractPeriod.startDate is 2026-10-27T00:00:00+00:00.
Planned service end
98% confidence31 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate is 2027-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service purpose
98% confidenceIn-market representation in Los Angeles to promote the UK as a location for film and high-end television investment.
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Procurement description.
Activities
98% confidenceRelationship building with US industry stakeholders, identifying inward-investment opportunities, and providing market intelligence supporting trade and FDI objectives.
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Procurement description.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is services.
Published classification
99% confidenceCPV 79952000 — Event services
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Award item 1 additional classification.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1); no lot title or description supplied.
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Tender and award data identify lot 1 only; the lot record has no title or description.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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Tender procurementMethod is direct and procurementMethodDetails is Direct award.
Threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Award 1 aboveThreshold is true.
Published rationale for direct award
95% confidenceDBT states that British Film Commission is the recognised national body for attracting and supporting inward-investment screen production, with specialist expertise and relationships that alternative suppliers could not replicate.
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Procurement description; this is the buyer's stated rationale.
Competition information
99% confidenceNo bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation scores or comparative pricing information supplied.
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Planned term
98% confidenceApproximately five months, from 27 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
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Published contract period dates.
Signature status
99% confidenceNot evidenced as signed; signature is scheduled for 26 October 2026
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Award status is pending and the milestone is futureSignatureDate with scheduled status.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route-to-market implication
92% confidenceThe direct-award rationale indicates a highly specialised requirement centred on established screen-sector representation and US industry networks.
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DBT's published direct-award rationale cites specialist expertise, UK-wide network and links with US studios and production companies.
Buyer-stated market impact context
85% confidenceDBT states that projects supported by British Film Commission were responsible for approximately 93% of UK inward-investment high-end television spend.
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Procurement description; this is a buyer-stated figure and is not independently substantiated in the notice.
Commercial transparency
98% confidenceThe notice publishes total net and gross award values but no pricing breakdown, deliverables schedule, KPIs or evaluation detail.
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Award value fields are published; further commercial detail is not supplied in the notice data.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Pending award status
99% confidenceThe award is pending and should not be described as a concluded, signed or active contract.
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Award 1 status is pending; future signature is scheduled.
Supplier identity
98% confidenceBritish Film Commission is the source-named supplier and is not Companies House-verified in the supplied supplier-verification data; verification is marked not applicable.
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Supplier verification status is not_applicable, with no verified company name or number supplied.
Notice-date distinction
99% confidenceThe award date is 1 October 2026, while the contract award notice was published on 15 October 2026.
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Award date and award-notice publication date differ in the supplied data.
Unpublished detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice includes lot title and description, individual lot value, bid data, evaluation detail, pricing breakdown, KPIs, and extension terms.
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Relevant source fields are absent or null.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The award remains pending, with no evidence in the supplied data that a contract has been signed or commenced.
- British Film Commission is not Companies House-verified in the supplied data; supplier verification is marked not applicable.
- No lot title, lot description or individual lot value is published.
- No bid count, evaluation scores, tender submissions, pricing breakdown, KPIs, extension options or renewal terms are supplied.
- The buyer's statement concerning approximately 93% of UK inward-investment high-end television spend is reported as buyer-provided context and is not independently evidenced in the notice.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Department for Business & TradeBritish Film Commissiondirect awardLos Angeles representationfilm investmenthigh-end televisionFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is the named awardee?
British Film Commission is the sole named supplier for award 1.
Is the contract signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The award is pending and signature is scheduled for 26 October 2026.
What is the published award value?
£200,000 excluding VAT, or £240,000 including VAT.
What services are planned?
Los Angeles-based representation, stakeholder engagement, inward-investment opportunity identification and market intelligence for UK screen-sector investment.
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.