AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
UK Research & Innovation intends to award White Desert Ltd a direct award for air-movement services supporting the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station during the 2026/27 season. The award remains pending, with signature scheduled after the standstill period.
Published outcomePending direct award to White Desert Ltd for lot 1, valued at £1,197,511.32 gross.
Market significanceThis is an above-threshold Antarctic air-transport services requirement, using a direct award route and with a short planned delivery period.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
WHITE DESERT LTD
98% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 1197511.32 GBP · Pending awardee
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Award 1 names WHITE DESERT LTD as its supplier and has status "pending". The £1,197,511.32 amount is the award-level value for the sole recorded supplier and lot.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
99% confidenceContract award notice published; award pending
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The process is displayed as awarded and complete, but award 1 has status "pending".
Signature status
99% confidenceNot evidenced as signed
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The award milestone records a future signature date of 29 October 2026 with status "scheduled".
Standstill
99% confidenceScheduled to end 27 October 2026 at 23:59:59 UTC
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Award 1 records standstillPeriod.endDate as 2026-10-27T23:59:59+00:00.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value
99% confidence£1,197,511.32 gross
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Award 1 value records amountGross and amount as 1197511.32 GBP.
Value allocation
97% confidenceAward-level value associated with the single recorded supplier and lot
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Award 1 has one supplier, WHITE DESERT LTD, and related lot 1.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award decision date
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-10-15T00:00:00+01:00.
Award-notice publication
99% confidence16 October 2026
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The award notice document was published at 2026-10-16T15:28:19+01:00.
Planned signature date
99% confidence29 October 2026
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The futureSignatureDate milestone is due 2026-10-29T23:59:59Z.
Planned contract period
99% confidence2 November 2026 to 22 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod runs from 2026-11-02T00:00:00Z to 2027-03-22T23:59:59Z.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceAir movements for Halley Research Station for the British Antarctic Survey’s 2026/27 season
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The tender title and description state this requirement.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is "services".
Service classification
99% confidenceCPV 60400000 — Air transport services
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Award item 1 contains this CPV classification.
Delivery location
99% confidenceAntarctica
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Award item 1 delivery address is country/region AQ, Antarctica.
Lot structure
98% confidenceOne recorded lot; no lot title or description published
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Tender and award reference lot 1; the supplied lot record has no title or description.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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The tender procurementMethodDetails is "Direct award".
Threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Award 1 records aboveThreshold as true.
Competition information
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice data
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No tenderer count, bid information, evaluation scores or award rationale is provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Planned term
99% confidence2 November 2026 to 22 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod provides these dates.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice data
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No extension, option or renewal field is provided.
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceNot confirmed
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The award remains pending and signature is only scheduled.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Market route
97% confidenceA direct, above-threshold award is proposed for a specialised Antarctic air-transport requirement.
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The notice records a direct award, above-threshold status, CPV air transport services and Antarctica as the delivery location.
Commercial status
99% confidenceSuppliers should not treat this as an active concluded contract until signature or a later confirmed contract status is published.
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Award 1 is pending and its signature milestone is scheduled in the future.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Pending status
99% confidenceThe notice is an award announcement, not evidence of a signed or active contract.
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Award status is pending and future signature is scheduled for 29 October 2026.
Supplier verification
96% confidenceSupplier identity is based on the published source name; no independently verified legal company identity was supplied.
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verified_company_name and verified_company_number are null; verification status is not_applicable.
Information not supplied
99% confidenceLot title, lot description, bid count, evaluation details, award rationale, pricing breakdown and extension terms are not supplied in the published notice data.
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These fields are absent or null in the supplied records.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The award is pending; it must not be represented as a signed, concluded or active contract.
- The supplier name has not been independently company-verified in the supplied data.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes bid counts, evaluation and selection rationale, lot narrative, detailed pricing, and extension or renewal provisions.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Halley Research Station Air MovementsUKRIBritish Antarctic SurveyWHITE DESERT LTDAntarctica air transport servicesdirect award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is the proposed supplier for Halley Research Station Air Movements?
The pending award names WHITE DESERT LTD as supplier.
What is the value of the award?
The award-level gross value is £1,197,511.32.
Has the contract been signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The award is pending and the notice records a signature milestone scheduled for 29 October 2026.
When is service delivery planned?
The stated planned contract period is 2 November 2026 to 22 March 2027.
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.