AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
NHS England published a contract details notice for a Financial Times newspaper subscription awarded to The Financial Times Limited. The contract record is active and states a 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 term, valued at £4,407 excluding VAT (£5,288.40 including VAT).
Published outcomeOne active award and one active contract are recorded for The Financial Times Limited under a direct, below-threshold procedure without competition.
Market significanceThis is a small, single-supplier subscription purchase rather than an openly competed market opportunity.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
The Financial Times Limited
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £4,407 excluding VAT; £5,288.40 including VAT GBP · Active award; active contract
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names The Financial Times Limited as supplier. Linked contract 1 has amount £4,407 and amountGross £5,288.40.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice type
99% confidenceContract details notice on Find a Tender (UK7)
View supporting evidence
Document 094942-2026 is described as a "Contract details notice on Find a Tender" and was published on 7 October 2026.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Award 1 has status "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 has status "active".
Signature status
98% confidenceThe source explicitly says the contract was signed, but gives conflicting signature dates.
View supporting evidence
The description says "THE CONTRACT WAS SIGNED ON 07TH OCTOBER 2026"; contract.dateSigned is 1 October 2026.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£4,407
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amount is 4407 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£5,288.40
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amountGross is 5288.4 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract start
99% confidence1 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period.startDate is 2026-10-01.
Contract end
99% confidence30 September 2027
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period.endDate is 2027-09-30.
Notice publication
99% confidence7 October 2026
View supporting evidence
The contract notice document datePublished is 2026-10-07.
Recorded signature date
99% confidence1 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-01.
Signature date stated in description
98% confidence7 October 2026
View supporting evidence
The tender description explicitly states that the contract was signed on 07 October 2026.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceFinancial Times newspaper subscription
View supporting evidence
Process and contract title: "Financial Times Newspaper Subscription"; description: "Financial Times Newspaper subscription."
Procurement category
98% confidenceServices
View supporting evidence
Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is "services".
Lot
98% confidenceLot 1; no published lot title or description
View supporting evidence
Award 1 and its item reference related lot 1; the lot record has no title or description.
Published CPV classification
99% confidence85100000 — Health services
View supporting evidence
The award item lists CPV 85100000 with description "Health services".
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceDirect
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethod is "direct".
Procedure detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - without competition
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethodDetails is "Below threshold - without competition".
Competition information
99% confidenceNo competition was used according to the published procedure detail.
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethodDetails states "Below threshold - without competition".
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 aboveThreshold is false.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidence1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period specifies these start and end dates.
Duration
98% confidence12 months
View supporting evidence
The stated contract period runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
99% confidenceA single-supplier, below-threshold direct subscription contract.
View supporting evidence
One supplier is named on active award 1; the procedure is recorded as direct and "Below threshold - without competition".
Value presentation
99% confidenceThe published record provides both net and gross contract values.
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 lists amount £4,407 and amountGross £5,288.40.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Conflicting signature dates
99% confidenceAdministrator review required
View supporting evidence
The description states signature on 7 October 2026, while contract.dateSigned is 1 October 2026.
Lot detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: lot 1 has no title, description or separate value.
View supporting evidence
Lot 1 contains only its identifier and status; no lot title, description or value is populated.
Evaluation detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
View supporting evidence
No evaluation criteria, scoring, bidder count or award rationale is present in the supplied record.
Classification relevance
99% confidenceThe published CPV is Health services, although the stated requirement is a Financial Times newspaper subscription.
View supporting evidence
The award item records CPV 85100000 "Health services"; the title and description refer to a Financial Times subscription.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- No bid count, evaluation criteria, scores or award rationale is published.
- No extension or renewal terms are published.
- No lot title, lot description or individual lot value is published.
- No pricing breakdown beyond net and gross contract value is published.
- The source contains contradictory contract signature dates: the description says 7 October 2026, while the contract record gives 1 October 2026. Administrator confirmation is required before publishing a definitive signature date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
NHS EnglandThe Financial Times LimitedFinancial Times subscriptionnewspaper subscriptiondirect awardFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who was awarded the contract?
The Financial Times Limited was named as supplier on the active award.
What is the contract value?
The record states £4,407 excluding VAT and £5,288.40 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The published period is 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Was the contract competed?
The procedure is recorded as direct, below threshold and without competition.
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.