AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd published an award and contract notice for stakeholder engagement services. The notice identifies INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED as supplier and records a contract value of £1,168,415.97, with a signed date of 18 September 2026.
Published outcomeOne active award is recorded for INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED under a further competition through the RM6124 Communications Marketplace DPS.
Market significanceThis is a UK-wide public-relations and stakeholder-engagement services requirement for Network Rail, described as a four-year contract. The published contract value is held at contract level and is associated with the sole recorded award.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 096581-2026-1 · Lots 1 · £1,168,415.97 (contract-level value) GBP · Verified supplier; award active
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Verified company name: INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, company number 05738834, exact-name match. Award 096581-2026-1 names iNHouse Communications Limited as its sole supplier. Associated contract value is GBP 1,168,415.97.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidence13 October 2026
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Award/contract notice published_at: 2026-10-13T14:14:35+01:00.
Award status
95% confidenceActive
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Award 096581-2026-1 has status 'active'.
Contract status
95% confidenceActive
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Contract 096581-2026-1 has status 'active'.
Contract signed date
99% confidence18 September 2026
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Contract 096581-2026-1 dateSigned: 2026-09-18.
Lot status conflict
99% confidenceLot 1 is marked cancelled
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Tender lot 1 status is 'cancelled', while the related award and contract are both marked active.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value
99% confidence£1,168,415.97
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Contract 096581-2026-1 value.amount: 1168415.97; currency: GBP.
Value attribution
91% confidenceContract-level value associated with the sole recorded award
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The contract references awardID 096581-2026-1, which lists one supplier. No separate lot value is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence18 September 2026
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Contract dateSigned: 2026-09-18.
Award and contract notice published
99% confidence13 October 2026
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Release date and published_at: 2026-10-13.
Stated term
92% confidenceFour years
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Notice description states: 'Award of a four-year contract'.
Start and end dates
99% confidenceNot supplied
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contract_start_at and contract_end_at are null; no start or end date is provided in contract data.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceStakeholder engagement services
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Process title: Stakeholder Engagement Services.
Service scope
98% confidenceFull-service consultancy, analysis and monitoring for communications and engagement strategy, projects and major-event responses
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Lot 1 description.
Delivery geography
95% confidenceUnited Kingdom
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Item delivery address region: UK.
Relevant CPV categories
99% confidenceStakeholder representation; public relations; public relations management; public relations consultancy
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Published CPV classifications: 79112100, 79416000, 79416100 and 79416200.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Route to market
99% confidenceFurther competition under RM6124 Communications Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System
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Tender rationale and description state that the contract followed a further competition through RM6124 Communications Marketplace DPS.
Published procedure label
99% confidenceLimited procedure / award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
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procurement_method: limited; procurement_method_details as published.
Competition population
97% confidenceSuppliers admitted to relevant DPS category filters
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Tender rationale states that the opportunity was competed among suppliers admitted to the relevant DPS category filters.
Evaluation weighting
88% confidenceQuality 70%; cost 30%
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Lot 1 award criteria list Quality Criterion 70% and Cost Criterion 30%. A separate price criterion is also displayed as 100%, creating an ambiguity in the published criteria.
Bid count and scores
99% confidenceNot supplied
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No tenderer count, award scores or evaluation narrative is supplied.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
92% confidenceFour years stated
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Notice description describes a four-year contract.
Options
98% confidenceNo options
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Lot 1 hasOptions: false.
Extension and renewal terms
99% confidenceNot supplied
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No extension or renewal provisions are published.
Contract start and end
99% confidenceNot supplied
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No start or end date is present in the supplied contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
99% confidenceDPS call-off following further competition
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The procurement rationale identifies a further competition under RM6124 Communications Marketplace DPS.
Demand profile
96% confidenceStrategic and event-responsive communications support
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The lot description covers overarching strategy, individual projects and responses to major events.
Published value visibility
99% confidenceSingle contract value published; no pricing breakdown or lot value
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A contract value is supplied, while lot value and pricing details are absent.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award and lot status inconsistency
99% confidenceActive award and contract are linked to a cancelled lot
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Lot 1 is marked cancelled, but award 096581-2026-1 and contract 096581-2026-1 are marked active.
Evaluation criteria ambiguity
99% confidencePublished criteria show 70% quality and 30% cost, plus a separate 100% price entry
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Lot 1 awardCriteria contains Quality 70%, Cost 30%, and Price 100%.
Missing operational dates
99% confidenceContract start and end dates are not supplied
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contract_start_at and contract_end_at are null; the contract record provides only dateSigned.
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceSupplier identity verified
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Supplier verification completed with an exact-name match to INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, company number 05738834.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The published lot is marked cancelled while its associated award and contract are marked active; the source does not explain this inconsistency.
- Contract start and end dates are not supplied, so the stated four-year duration cannot be converted into calendar dates.
- No bid count, bidder identities, tender prices, evaluation scores, award rationale or detailed pricing breakdown is supplied.
- The published award criteria include a 70% quality and 30% cost split alongside a separate 100% price entry; the intended evaluation presentation is unclear.
- No individual lot value is published; the £1,168,415.97 amount is reported from the linked contract record.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Network Rail stakeholder engagement servicesINHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITEDRM6124 Communications Marketplace DPSpublic relations services contractNetwork Rail contract award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won Network Rail's stakeholder engagement services contract?
The published award identifies INHOUSE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED as the supplier for award 096581-2026-1.
What is the published contract value?
The contract record states a value of £1,168,415.97 excluding any unpublished pricing breakdown.
When was the contract signed?
The contract record gives a signed date of 18 September 2026.
What procurement route was used?
Network Rail states that it ran a further competition through the RM6124 Communications Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System.
When does the contract end?
No contract end date is supplied. The notice describes the arrangement as a four-year contract.
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.