AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Torfaen County Borough Council has published contract details for a cloud-based cemetery management system. The contract is awarded to GSS (NI) Ltd (t/a PlotBox), with a stated signed date of 1 May 2026 and an active contract period from 31 May 2026 to 30 May 2029.
Published outcomeOne active award and contract cover the single published lot. The stated contract value is £44,123 excluding VAT (£52,947 including VAT), with one optional 12-month extension.
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold, limited-competition public-sector software/services procurement for cemetery management, covering Torfaen in Wales.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
GSS (NI) Ltd (t/a PlotBox)
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £44,123 excluding VAT; £52,947 including VAT GBP · Active award; active contract
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Award 1 names GSS (NI) Ltd (t/a PlotBox) as supplier. Contract 1, linked to award 1, states £44,123 net and £52,947 gross.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidenceContract details notice published 12 October 2026
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Contract document 096304-2026 has datePublished 2026-10-12T17:25:53+01:00.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 status is active.
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status is active.
Contract signature
99% confidenceSigned 1 May 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-05-01T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period
99% confidence31 May 2026 to 30 May 2029
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Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£44,123
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Contract 1 value.amount is 44123 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£52,947
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 52947 GBP.
Value allocation
95% confidenceContract-level value for the sole published award and lot
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Contract 1 is linked to award 1; award 1 relates to lot 1 only.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence1 May 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned.
Contract start
99% confidence31 May 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate.
Initial contract end
99% confidence30 May 2029
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Contract 1 period.endDate.
Maximum possible end
99% confidence30 May 2030
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Contract 1 period.maxExtentDate.
Notice published
99% confidence12 October 2026
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Contract document 096304-2026 datePublished.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceCloud-based cemetery management system
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Tender title and description.
Functional objectives
99% confidenceImprove efficiency, accuracy, automation, data access and customer experience; support office and external teams; reduce manual or paper-based workflows.
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Tender description.
Category
99% confidenceServices; CPV 98371110 — Cemetery services
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is services and its item has CPV 98371110.
Delivery area
97% confidenceTorfaen, Wales (UKL16)
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Award delivery address region is UKL16; buyer is Torfaen County Borough Council.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceLimited
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Tender procurementMethod is limited.
Method detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - limited competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1)
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Tender lists lot 1; award 1 and contract 1 relate to it.
Bidder count and evaluation
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence3 years
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The period runs from 31 May 2026 to 30 May 2029.
Extension option
99% confidenceOne optional 12-month extension
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Contract 1 hasRenewal is true and renewal description states '1 x optional 12 month extension'.
Maximum term
99% confidenceUp to 4 years
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The maximum extent date is 30 May 2030, one year after the initial end date.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo
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Contract 1 aboveThreshold is false.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Technology requirement
98% confidenceThe procurement centres on replacing or reducing manual and paper-based cemetery-management processes with a cloud-based system.
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Tender description.
Commercial scale
98% confidenceThe stated contract value is £44,123 excluding VAT over the initial three-year term, with an optional additional year.
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Contract value and period fields.
Competition context
99% confidenceThe published procedure is below threshold and limited competition; the notice does not disclose the number of competing suppliers or evaluation results.
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Tender procurementMethodDetails; no bidder count or evaluation fields are supplied.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Notice timing
99% confidenceThe contract details notice was published after the stated signing and start dates.
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Notice published 12 October 2026; contract signed 1 May 2026 and starts 31 May 2026.
Supplier identity
99% confidenceThe supplier name is reproduced from the published notice; no separately verified legal company name was supplied.
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verified_company_name is null and supplier_identity_status is not_applicable.
Unpublished competition information
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: award date, bidder count, evaluation methodology, scores and pricing breakdown.
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Relevant fields are absent or null.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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Lot 1 title, description and value fields are null.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- No award date, bidder count, evaluation methodology, scores, tender submissions or detailed pricing information is published.
- The single published lot has no title, description or individual value.
- No separately verified legal company name or company number was supplied for GSS (NI) Ltd (t/a PlotBox); the supplier name is therefore presented as published.
- The supplier address record identifies country as Ireland while giving a Ballymena address; this geographic detail is reproduced as published and not reconciled.
- The notice does not state whether the extension will be exercised; the potential 2030 end date is conditional.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Torfaen County Borough CouncilGSS (NI) LtdPlotBoxcemetery management systemcemetery servicespublic procurementWales
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Torfaen cemetery management system contract?
GSS (NI) Ltd (t/a PlotBox) is named as the supplier for award 1.
What is the value of the contract?
The published contract value is £44,123 excluding VAT and £52,947 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The stated initial period is 31 May 2026 to 30 May 2029. One optional 12-month extension could take the maximum end date to 30 May 2030.
Was the contract signed?
Yes. The contract data states a signed date of 1 May 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.