AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
West Lancashire Borough Council has concluded and signed a contract with GRANICUS-FIRMSTEP LIMITED for an engagement platform supporting activities across West Lancashire’s urban, village and rural communities.
Published outcomeOne active award and active contract are recorded for GRANICUS-FIRMSTEP LIMITED under a below-threshold direct procurement without competition.
Market significanceThe contract is for digital engagement software, with a stated net value of £30,000 and a possible 12-month extension.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
GRANICUS-FIRMSTEP LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · Contract-level value: £30,000 net (£36,000 gross); not separately allocated by lot. GBP · Verified supplier; active award
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Supplier is identified on award 1 and verified through GB-COH company number 04283951. Contract 1 linked to award 1 states amount £30,000 and amountGross £36,000.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published contract notice
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract details notice published at 2026-10-14T17:13:42+01:00.
Award status
98% confidenceActive
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Award 1 is recorded with status 'active'.
Contract signed
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract 1 states dateSigned: 2026-10-14T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract term
99% confidence15 October 2026 to 14 October 2027
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Contract period startDate is 2026-10-15 and endDate is 2027-10-14.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract net value
99% confidence£30,000
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Contract 1 value.amount is 30000 GBP.
Contract gross value
99% confidence£36,000
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 36000 GBP.
Lot value
98% confidenceUnknown
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No separate value is supplied for lot 1; the published value is at contract level.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-14.
Initial start date
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate is 2026-10-15.
Initial end date
99% confidence14 October 2027
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Contract 1 period.endDate is 2027-10-14.
Maximum extent date
99% confidence13 October 2028
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Contract 1 period.maxExtentDate is 2028-10-13.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceDigital platform for engagement activities across West Lancashire.
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The notice description states that WLBC required a digital platform to support engagement activities across the whole West Lancashire area.
Procurement category
98% confidenceGoods: software package and information systems.
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Award 1 lists mainProcurementCategory as goods and CPV 48000000, Software package and information systems.
Delivery area
98% confidenceWest Lancashire (UKD47), United Kingdom.
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Award item delivery address is region UKD47, GB.
Lot structure
98% confidenceOne lot recorded; no published lot title or detailed lot description.
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Tender and award records reference lot 1 only; its title and description are null.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceDirect procurement
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Tender procurementMethod is 'direct'.
Method detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold – without competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails states 'Below threshold - without competition'.
Competition information
98% confidenceNo competitive bidding or bid-count information supplied.
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The published method states without competition and no bid count or evaluation information is provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence12 months
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The period runs from 15 October 2026 to 14 October 2027.
Extension option
99% confidenceOne extension of 12 months is stated.
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Contract renewal states hasRenewal true and description '1 x 12 months'.
Maximum potential term
98% confidenceUp to approximately 24 months, ending no later than 13 October 2028 if extended.
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The initial period, one 12-month extension, and maxExtentDate of 2028-10-13 are stated in contract 1.
Pricing basis
99% confidence£30,000 net and £36,000 gross; detailed pricing is not supplied.
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Contract value contains amount 30000 and amountGross 36000 GBP, with no pricing breakdown.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route to market
99% confidenceThe buyer used a below-threshold direct route without competition.
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The tender's procurement method details explicitly state 'Below threshold - without competition'.
Commercial scale
97% confidenceThe stated contract value is £30,000 net over the initial term, with a possible extension; no extension value is separately published.
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Contract 1 states £30,000 net and includes a 12-month extension option, but no option-specific value.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Notice type and contract status
99% confidenceThe source is a Contract details notice and explicitly records an active contract with a signed date; the analysis therefore treats this as a concluded and signed contract.
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Notice type is Contract details notice; contract status is active; dateSigned is 2026-10-14.
Value allocation
98% confidenceThe published contract value is not allocated between lots, although only one lot is recorded.
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Contract-level value is supplied, while lot 1 has no value_amount.
Information not supplied in the published notice
98% confidenceNo award date, bid count, tender deadline, evaluation criteria, scores, pricing breakdown, lot title, or detailed lot description is provided.
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Relevant source fields are null or absent.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Information not supplied in the published notice: no award date, tender deadline, bid count, evaluation method, scores, pricing breakdown or award rationale.
- Lot 1 has no published title, detailed description or separate value; the £30,000 net and £36,000 gross figures are contract-level amounts.
- The extension is stated as one 12-month option, but the notice does not state whether it will be exercised or publish a separate extension value.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
West Lancashire Borough CouncilGRANICUS-FIRMSTEP LIMITEDEngagement Platformdigital engagement softwarepublic procurementcontract award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the West Lancashire Engagement Platform contract?
GRANICUS-FIRMSTEP LIMITED, verified under company number 04283951, is the supplier on the active award and contract.
What is the value of the contract?
The published contract value is £30,000 net and £36,000 gross.
When does the contract run?
The initial term runs from 15 October 2026 to 14 October 2027. One 12-month extension is stated, with a maximum extent date of 13 October 2028.
Was the procurement competed?
The notice states that this was a below-threshold direct procurement 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.