AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Stockton on Tees Borough Council awarded a direct architectural-services contract for RIBA Stage 3 work supporting the Splash Leisure Centre refurbishment to Howarth Litchfield Partnership Limited. The published contract record states that it was signed on 10 September 2026 and runs from 11 September 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Published outcomeOne active award and contract are recorded for Howarth Litchfield Partnership Limited. The contract value is £35,500 excluding VAT (£42,600 including VAT).
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold direct award for specialist architectural design services connected with a major leisure-centre refurbishment. The notice cites programme constraints and specialist capability as the rationale for direct award.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
HOWARTH LITCHFIELD PARTNERSHIP LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £35,500 excluding VAT; £42,600 including VAT GBP · Verified legal supplier; active award and contract
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Award 1 names supplier GB-COH-04661899. Supplier verification matches company number 04661899 to HOWARTH LITCHFIELD PARTNERSHIP LIMITED. Contract 1 is linked to award 1 and states the total contract value.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidenceContract details notice published 15 October 2026
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Contract document 097346-2026 lists datePublished as 2026-10-15T10:54:36+01:00.
Award status
98% confidenceActive
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Award 1 has status 'active'.
Contract status
98% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 has status 'active'.
Contract signed
99% confidence10 September 2026
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Contract 1 lists dateSigned as 2026-09-10T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period
99% confidence11 September 2026 to 30 September 2027
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Contract 1 period lists startDate 2026-09-11 and endDate 2027-09-30.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£35,500
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Contract 1 value.amount is 35500 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£42,600
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 42600 GBP.
Value allocation
96% confidenceThe published contract value relates to the single recorded contract and supplier.
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Contract 1 is linked to award 1, which names one supplier.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence10 September 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-09-10.
Contract start
99% confidence11 September 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate is 2026-09-11.
Contract end
99% confidence30 September 2027
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Contract 1 period.endDate is 2027-09-30.
Notice publication
99% confidence15 October 2026
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The contract details notice lists publication on 2026-10-15.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
96% confidenceArchitectural services to develop proposals through detailed design stages for the Splash Leisure Centre refurbishment.
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Tender description states the Council requires architectural services to develop project proposals through detailed design stages.
Service classification
99% confidenceArchitectural design services (CPV 71220000)
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Award item additional classification is CPV 71220000, Architectural design services.
Site and project context
93% confidenceThe refurbishment is intended to affect all areas of the leisure facility; some public activities may close while works are undertaken.
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Tender description states that all areas may be affected and some activities may close to the public.
Delivery region
98% confidenceUKC11
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Award item delivery address is UKC11.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
99% confidenceDirect award
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Tender description explicitly describes a direct award.
Threshold classification
99% confidenceBelow threshold - unknown
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is 'Below threshold - unknown'; contract is marked aboveThreshold false.
Published rationale
96% confidenceThe Council cites the need for consultants with relevant specialist experience, programme constraints and protection of critical delivery milestones.
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Tender description gives these reasons for not undertaking a further procurement exercise.
Competition information
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, bidder list, evaluation scores or comparative pricing is provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
98% confidenceApproximately 12 months and 20 days, from 11 September 2026 to 30 September 2027.
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Calculated from the explicit contract start and end dates.
VAT treatment
99% confidence£35,500 excluding VAT and £42,600 including VAT.
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Contract 1 provides both amount and amountGross in GBP.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No extension or renewal option is stated in the contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
95% confidenceA single-supplier direct award covers architectural design services for a defined refurbishment design stage.
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One supplier is named in award 1; the award is for architectural design services and the tender description identifies RIBA Stage 3 work.
Published value transparency
98% confidenceThe notice provides both net and gross total contract values but no rate card, fee breakdown or milestone payment schedule.
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Contract value contains amount and amountGross; no pricing breakdown is included in supplied data.
Delivery priority
94% confidenceThe stated rationale indicates schedule protection was a key consideration in the direct-award approach.
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The description says delay from a further procurement exercise could not be accommodated because of programme constraints and critical milestones.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Notice type and contractual evidence
99% confidenceThe source is a contract details notice and explicitly supplies a signature date, active contract status and contract period.
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Notice 097346-2026 is labelled a Contract details notice; contract 1 includes dateSigned, status and period.
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceSupplier identity is verified against company number 04661899.
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Supplier verification status is verified using company_number matching, with verified company name HOWARTH LITCHFIELD PARTNERSHIP LIMITED.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 is recorded, but no lot title, description or separate lot value is supplied.
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Tender and award data identify lot 1 only; its title, description and value are null.
Unpublished competition and evaluation detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid counts, tenderer identities beyond the awardee, scores, evaluation results or award decision date are included.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: award decision date, bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation methodology, scores and comparative pricing.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: fee breakdown, payment milestones, performance measures, extension provisions and renewal options.
- The notice describes the wider refurbishment context, but it does not define the full technical deliverables or design-stage outputs beyond architectural services through detailed design stages.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Howarth Litchfield Partnership LimitedStockton on Tees Borough CouncilSplash Leisure Centrearchitectural design servicesRIBA Stage 3direct awardpublic procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Splash architectural services contract?
HOWARTH LITCHFIELD PARTNERSHIP LIMITED won award 1. Its identity is verified against company number 04661899.
What is the contract value?
The published contract value is £35,500 excluding VAT and £42,600 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The published period is 11 September 2026 to 30 September 2027. The record states it was signed on 10 September 2026.
Why was a direct award used?
The notice cites specialist experience, programme constraints and the need to maintain critical delivery milestones.
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.