AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Epping Forest District Council published contract details for a Perkbox employee-benefits subscription service. The contract is recorded as active, with SME HCI LIMITED named as supplier.
Published outcomeA direct, below-threshold procurement without competition resulted in one active award and one active contract record for SME HCI LIMITED.
Market significanceThis is a £40,608 net (£48,729.60 gross) three-year employee-benefits platform contract, covering benefits, recognition and wellness functions.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
SME HCI LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £40,608 net; £48,729.60 gross GBP · Verified supplier; active award and contract record
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Award 1 names SME HCI LIMITED as supplier. The supplier is verified against Companies House number 05558651. Contract 1, linked to award 1, states the contract value.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice published
99% confidence15 October 2026
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The contract details notice was published at 2026-10-15T17:03:49+01:00.
Contract signed
99% confidence13 February 2026
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Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-02-13T00:00:00Z.
Contract term
99% confidence1 March 2026 to 28 February 2029
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Contract 1 period records startDate 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z and endDate 2029-02-28T23:59:59Z.
Current record status
98% confidenceActive
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Award 1 and contract 1 are both marked active in the published contract data.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£40,608
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Contract 1 value.amount is 40608 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£48,729.60
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 48729.6 GBP.
Value allocation
96% confidenceContract-wide value; no separate lot-level value published
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The contract is linked to award 1 and lot 1, while the lot record has no value amount.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signature
99% confidence13 February 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-02-13.
Contract start
99% confidence1 March 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-03-01.
Contract end
99% confidence28 February 2029
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Contract 1 period endDate is 2029-02-28.
Notice publication
99% confidence15 October 2026
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The contract details notice datePublished is 2026-10-15T17:03:49+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
99% confidencePerkbox subscription service for employee benefits
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The notice title is 'Perkbox Subscription Service' and the description states provision of a Perkbox subscription service.
Functional scope
99% confidenceEmployee benefits, recognition hub and wellness hub
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The description says the platform provides the employee benefits package, a recognition hub and a wellness hub as part of staff wellbeing.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is services.
Published classification
99% confidenceCPV 79633000 — Staff development services
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Award item 1 lists CPV 79633000 with description 'Staff development services'.
Delivery region
95% confidenceUKH3
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Award item 1 lists delivery address region UKH3.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect procurement
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The tender procurementMethod is direct.
Competition basis
99% confidenceBelow threshold — without competition
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The tender procurementMethodDetails states 'Below threshold - without competition'.
Threshold status
99% confidenceBelow threshold
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Contract 1 aboveThreshold is false.
Published awards
98% confidenceOne
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The published data contains award 1 only.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status is active.
Term length
99% confidenceThree years
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The stated period runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2029.
Extension options
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
Pricing and payment terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial route
92% confidenceDirect continuation-style purchase for an established employee-benefits platform
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The buyer says employees already use and understand Perkbox, while the procurement is stated as direct and below threshold without competition.
Supplier opportunity
96% confidenceThe published scope indicates demand for an integrated employee-benefits, recognition and wellness platform.
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The description identifies all three platform functions.
Comparable market intelligence
99% confidenceNo bid, pricing-comparison, evaluation or savings information is published.
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award and contract linkage
99% confidenceClear
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Contract 1 is explicitly linked to award 1, and award 1 is linked to lot 1.
Supplier identity
99% confidenceVerified
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The named supplier was matched by Companies House company number 05558651 to SME HCI LIMITED.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLimited
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Lot 1 is identified but has no published title, description or separate value.
Competition and evaluation data
99% confidenceNot published
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- No award decision date is published.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description, separate value or pricing breakdown.
- The notice does not publish bidder numbers, evaluation criteria, scores, rationale beyond the buyer's stated existing-platform context, or savings.
- No extension, renewal-option, payment or service-level terms are published.
- The source does not provide a procurement forecast beyond the explicit contract end date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Epping Forest District CouncilSME HCI LIMITEDPerkboxemployee benefitsstaff wellbeingcontract awarddirect procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who was awarded the Perkbox subscription contract?
SME HCI LIMITED was named as the supplier for award 1 and is verified by company number 05558651.
What is the contract value?
The published contract value is £40,608 excluding VAT and £48,729.60 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The published term runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2029.
How was the supplier selected?
The notice records a direct, below-threshold 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.