AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) directly awarded World Fuel Services Europe Ltd a contract to provide aircraft refuelling for British Antarctic Survey flying seasons 2026–27. The published contract record states that it was signed on 15 October 2026 and runs from 28 October 2026 to 28 October 2027.
Published outcomeOne active award and one active contract are recorded for lot 1. The published net contract value is £800,000; the gross value is £960,000.
Market significanceThis is a single-supplier, above-threshold direct award for Antarctic aviation fuel services, justified by UKRI on technical grounds.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
World Fuel Services Europe Ltd
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 800000 GBP · Active award; active contract
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Award 1 names World Fuel Services Europe Ltd as supplier and is related to lot 1. The £800,000 value is recorded at contract level for contract 1 linked to award 1.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete
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Tender status is recorded as "complete".
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract signature
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract 1 specifies dateSigned as 2026-10-15.
Contract start
99% confidence28 October 2026
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Contract period startDate is 2026-10-28.
Contract end
99% confidence28 October 2027
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Contract period endDate is 2027-10-28.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value, excluding VAT
99% confidence£800,000
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Contract 1 value amount is 800000 GBP; the accompanying gross amount is £960,000.
Contract value, including VAT
99% confidence£960,000
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Contract 1 value amountGross is 960000 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceContract-level value linked to award 1 and lot 1
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Contract 1 links to award 1; award 1 relates to lot 1 and names one supplier.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Award record 1 lists award_date as 2026-10-14.
Contract signed
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract 1 lists dateSigned as 2026-10-15.
Contract start
99% confidence28 October 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-28.
Contract end
99% confidence28 October 2027
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Contract 1 period endDate is 2027-10-28.
Latest published notice
99% confidence16 October 2026
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The Contract details notice was published on 2026-10-16.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceAircraft refuelling during Antarctic flying seasons 2026–27 for BAS
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The procurement title and description state this requirement.
Procurement category
99% confidenceGoods
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Award 1 records mainProcurementCategory as "goods".
Classification
99% confidenceCPV 09000000 — Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
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Award item 1 includes this CPV classification.
Delivery location
99% confidenceAntarctica
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Award item 1 specifies delivery region and country AQ, Antarctica.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1)
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The tender contains lot 1 only; award 1 and contract 1 link to that lot.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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The tender records procurementMethod as "direct" and procurementMethodDetails as "Direct award".
Published rationale
99% confidenceTechnical reasons
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The procurementMethodRationale is "Technical reasons" and the classification is "singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons".
Threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Contract 1 records aboveThreshold as true.
Competition information
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, bidder list, evaluation results or score data is provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidence28 October 2026 to 28 October 2027
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Contract 1 period runs from 2026-10-28 to 2027-10-28.
Pricing/metrics note
98% confidenceAgreed pricing for defined deliverables; no agreed metrics recorded
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Contract 1 states noAgreedMetricsRationale: "Agreed pricing for defined deliverables."
Extensions and options
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No extension, option or renewal terms are included in the supplied contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Supply-market signal
94% confidenceThe requirement concerns specialist aviation fuel provision supporting Antarctic operations.
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The scope is aircraft refuelling for BAS flying seasons, with delivery in Antarctica.
Award route signal
99% confidenceUKRI used a technical-reasons direct award rather than a competed procedure.
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The published method is direct award and the stated rationale is technical reasons.
Commercial scale
98% confidenceThe published contract value is £800,000 excluding VAT over the stated one-year term.
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Contract 1 has a net value of £800,000 and runs from 28 October 2026 to 28 October 2027.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity
98% confidenceSupplier name is published but not independently Companies House-verified in the supplied data.
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Verification status is "not_applicable" and verified company name/number fields are blank.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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The lot record contains null title, description and value fields.
Competition and evaluation
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No tender response count, evaluation method, bid prices or award scoring is provided.
Contract flexibility
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No published options, extensions, indexation or renewal terms are included.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The supplier is not independently Companies House-verified in the supplied data; World Fuel Services Europe Ltd is reported as the published supplier name.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information on competing bidders, bids received, evaluation, pricing breakdown and award scoring is not supplied.
- No published extension, option, indexation or renewal terms are available.
- The estimated October 2027 renewal/recompetition timing is derived only from the stated contract end date and is not a procurement forecast.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
UKRIBritish Antarctic SurveyBASWorld Fuel Services Europe Ltdaircraft refuellingAntarcticadirect awardaviation fuel
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the UKRI Antarctic aircraft refuelling contract?
World Fuel Services Europe Ltd is named as the supplier for award 1.
What is the contract value?
The published contract value is £800,000 excluding VAT and £960,000 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The published period runs from 28 October 2026 to 28 October 2027.
What procedure did UKRI use?
The notice records a direct award justified by technical reasons.
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.