AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Department for Business & Trade awarded The Economist Newspaper Limited a direct, below-threshold contract for a digital corporate Economist subscription for BIST colleagues, including staff overseas. The published contract record states that it was signed on 15 October 2026 and runs from 19 October 2026 to 19 October 2027.
Published outcomeOne active award and one active contract are recorded for The Economist Newspaper Limited.
Market significanceThis is a single-supplier subscription purchase for digital news, economic and business intelligence access, rather than a competed multi-supplier procurement.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
The Economist Newspaper Limited
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · Shared contract value: £70,500 excluding VAT (£84,600 including VAT) GBP · Active award; active contract
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Award 1 names The Economist Newspaper Limited as supplier. Contract 1, linked to award 1, states £70,500 amount and £84,600 amountGross.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement status
99% confidenceComplete
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Tender status is "complete"; the notice is a Contract details notice.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 status is "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status is "active".
Contract signature
99% confidenceSigned 15 October 2026
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Contract 1 includes dateSigned: 2026-10-15.
Contract term
99% confidence19 October 2026 to 19 October 2027
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Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-19 and endDate is 2027-10-19.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£70,500
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Contract 1 value.amount is 70500 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£84,600
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is 84600 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-15.
Contract start
99% confidence19 October 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate is 2026-10-19.
Contract end
99% confidence19 October 2027
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Contract 1 period.endDate is 2027-10-19.
Notice published
99% confidence16 October 2026
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Contract details notice was published at 2026-10-16T15:44:15+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceDigital corporate subscription to The Economist website and app for BIST colleagues, including staff at post.
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Published description states the subscription provides access for all BIST colleagues, including staff at post, through the Economist website and app.
Content and access
98% confidenceOnline accounts, political, business and economic news and analysis, plus podcasts and events.
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Published description identifies online accounts and access to analysis, trends, podcasts and events.
Procurement category
99% confidenceGoods
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is "goods".
Classification
99% confidenceCPV 22200000 — Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines
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Award item 1 lists CPV 22200000.
Delivery coverage
95% confidenceUnited Kingdom
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Award item delivery address is region UK.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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Tender procurementMethod is "direct".
Procedure detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold — without competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails states "Below threshold - without competition".
Legal basis
99% confidenceProcurement Act 2023
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Tender legalBasis is UKPGA 2023/54; the description also states the procurement was under the Procurement Act 2023.
Competition information
98% confidenceNo competition was used; bidder count and evaluation information were not supplied.
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Procedure detail states without competition. No bidder count or evaluation material appears in the supplied notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidenceOne year
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The stated period runs from 19 October 2026 to 19 October 2027.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceBelow threshold
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Contract 1 aboveThreshold is false.
Extension or renewal options
98% confidenceUnknown
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No extension or renewal option is supplied in the published contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial model
98% confidenceOrganisation-wide digital publication subscription
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The scope is a digital corporate subscription enabling BIST colleagues to create online accounts and use the website and app.
Route to market
99% confidenceDirect below-threshold purchase without competition
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The procurement method is direct and the stated detail is below threshold without competition.
Value interpretation
97% confidenceThe published amount is contract-level and is not apportioned across users or services.
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One contract value is published, while no pricing breakdown, user count or component allocation is supplied.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity
95% confidenceSource supplier identity is recorded through a GB-PPON identifier; no separate Companies House verification was applicable.
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Supplier identity status is "not_applicable" and the supplier has GB-PPON identifier PVHN-7787-RZQW.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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Lot 1 is present but its title, description and value fields are null.
Award date
99% confidenceNot supplied in the award record.
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Award 1 award_date is null.
Commercial detail
98% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: pricing breakdown, user volumes, bidder count, evaluation, award rationale, and extension terms.
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These fields are absent from the supplied source data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- The award record does not supply an award date.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bidder count, evaluation detail, award rationale, pricing breakdown, user volumes, and extension or renewal terms.
- The contract value is published at contract level only; no allocation across users, service components or lots is available.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Department for Business & TradeThe Economist Newspaper LimitedEconomist subscriptiondigital corporate subscriptiondirect awardProcurement Act 2023
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Economist subscription contract?
The Economist Newspaper Limited is the supplier named for award 1.
What is the contract value?
The contract value is £70,500 excluding VAT and £84,600 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
The published contract period runs from 19 October 2026 to 19 October 2027.
Was the procurement competed?
No. The notice describes a below-threshold direct award 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.