AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Devon County Council has published a transparency notice for a proposed direct award to PENNA PLC for recruitment advertising and related services. The award is pending and the notice schedules signature for 30 October 2026; it does not evidence a signed contract.
Published outcomePending award to PENNA PLC for lot 1, valued at £160,000 excluding VAT (£192,000 including VAT).
Market significanceA below-threshold direct award covering recruitment advertising, employer branding, media planning and campaign management, with a potential discretionary extension.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
PENNA PLC
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 160000 GBP · Pending award
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Award 1 identifies PENNA PLC as supplier, relates to lot 1, has status pending, and records £160,000 excluding VAT.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceTransparency notice on Find a Tender (UK5)
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Document 094848-2026 is described as “Transparency notice on Find a Tender” and has notice type UK5.
Award status
99% confidencePending
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Award 1 has status “pending”.
Contract signature status
98% confidenceNot evidenced as signed
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The award is pending and has a scheduled futureSignatureDate of 30 October 2026.
Tender/lot status
98% confidenceComplete
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Tender CP2787-26 and lot 1 are each recorded with status “complete”.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value excluding VAT
99% confidence£160,000
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Award 1 value.amount is 160000 GBP.
Award value including VAT
99% confidence£192,000
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 192000 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Notice publication date
99% confidence7 October 2026
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The transparency notice was published at 2026-10-07T15:08:10+01:00.
Scheduled signature date
99% confidence30 October 2026
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Award milestone futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-10-30T23:59:59Z.
Planned contract start
99% confidence1 November 2026
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Award contractPeriod.startDate is 2026-11-01T00:00:00Z.
Planned initial contract end
99% confidence30 April 2028
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Award contractPeriod.endDate is 2028-04-30T23:59:59+01:00.
Maximum stated extent date
99% confidence31 October 2029
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Award contractPeriod.maxExtentDate is 2029-10-31T23:59:59Z.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceRecruitment advertising and related services
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Tender title is “Recruitment Advertising and Related Services”.
Services covered
99% confidenceRecruitment advertising, employer branding, media planning and buying, campaign management, and advice on reaching diverse and under-represented candidate groups
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These services are listed in the tender description.
Procurement classification
99% confidenceCPV 79341200 — Advertising management services
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Award item additional classification is CPV 79341200.
Delivery area
95% confidenceUKK43
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Award item delivery address specifies region UKK43.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceDirect
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Tender procurementMethod is “direct”.
Method detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - without competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is “Below threshold - without competition”.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo
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Award 1 records aboveThreshold as false.
SME suitability
95% confidenceMarked suitable for SMEs
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Lot 1 suitability.sme is true.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence1 November 2026 to 30 April 2028
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Award contractPeriod gives these start and end dates.
Extension provision
99% confidenceOne discretionary 18-month extension is described
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Award renewal description states “18mth extension to be used at the authority's discretion”.
Maximum potential term end
99% confidence31 October 2029
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Award contractPeriod.maxExtentDate is 31 October 2029.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
98% confidenceThe published award presents a single supplier and a single lot, with one total award value.
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Award 1 names one supplier, PENNA PLC, relates to lot 1, and records a total value of £160,000 excluding VAT.
Service continuity
95% confidenceThe requirement states that the Council requires continued access to a specialist provider.
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The tender description uses the phrase “continued access to a specialist provider”. This does not identify an incumbent supplier.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Lifecycle caution
99% confidenceThe published award remains pending; signature and contract commencement are not confirmed.
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Award status is pending and the future signature date is scheduled.
Lot detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: a lot title, lot description and separate lot value.
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Lot 1 has no title, description or value in the supplied data.
Competition detail
97% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: bidder count, evaluation outcomes and award rationale.
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No such fields are present in the supplied notice data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Information not supplied in the published notice: award decision date, bid count, evaluation details, pricing breakdown and named lot title or description.
- No executed contract document or confirmation of contract signature was supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Devon County CouncilPENNA PLCrecruitment advertisingemployer brandingmedia planningdirect award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is the proposed supplier?
PENNA PLC is named as the supplier for pending award 1.
Has the contract been signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The notice records a pending award and a scheduled signature date of 30 October 2026.
What is the contract value?
The published award value is £160,000 excluding VAT and £192,000 including VAT.
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.