AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
UK Research and Innovation has concluded a below-threshold limited-competition procurement for HRPD-X Rail Plates. The contract was signed with NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED, whose source name includes the trading name Ferrositi.
Published outcomeOne active award and one active contract are recorded for lot 1. The contract is explicitly recorded as signed on 18 October 2026, starts on 19 October 2026 and ends on 29 January 2027.
Market significanceThis is a short-duration goods supply contract worth £30,196 net (£36,235.20 gross). The notice does not publish bid-level competition, pricing or evaluation information.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED
100% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £30,196 net / £36,235.20 gross (contract-level value) GBP · Verified legal supplier; active award
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Supplier verification matched company number 07971121 to NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED. Award 1 names the source supplier as “NCF Engineering Ltd (T/A Ferrositi)”; contract 1 is linked to award 1 and records the stated values.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
100% confidenceContract details notice
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Process notice type: “Contract details notice on Find a Tender”.
Procurement status
100% confidenceComplete
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Tender status is “complete”; process source status is “complete”.
Award status
100% confidenceActive
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Award 1 status is “active”.
Contract status
100% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status is “active”.
Contract signature
100% confidenceSigned on 18 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned: 2026-10-18.
Contract period
100% confidence19 October 2026 to 29 January 2027
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Contract 1 period startDate: 2026-10-19; endDate: 2027-01-29.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value (net)
100% confidence£30,196
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Contract 1 value amount: 30196 GBP.
Contract value (gross)
100% confidence£36,235.20
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Contract 1 value amountGross: 36235.2 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceContract-level value; no separate lot 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 signed
100% confidence18 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned: 2026-10-18.
Contract start
100% confidence19 October 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate: 2026-10-19.
Contract end
100% confidence29 January 2027
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Contract 1 period endDate: 2027-01-29.
Notice published
100% confidence20 October 2026
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Notice/document publication timestamp: 2026-10-20T10:26:38+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
100% confidenceSupply of HRPD-X Rail Plates, with material certification 3.1mill and a certificate of conformity to UKRI
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Published process description.
Category
100% confidenceGoods
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is “goods”.
Classification
100% confidenceCPV 34320000 — Mechanical spare parts except engines and engine parts
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Award item additional classification.
Lot coverage
100% confidenceLot 1
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Award 1 relatedLots and item relatedLot both identify lot 1.
Delivery regions
100% confidenceUKC, UKD, UKE, UKF, UKG, UKH, UKI, UKJ and UKK
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Award item deliveryAddresses lists these UK regions.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
100% confidenceBelow-threshold limited competition
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Tender procurementMethod is “limited”; procurementMethodDetails is “Below threshold - limited competition”.
Competition information
100% confidenceNumber of invited suppliers, bids and evaluation results: unknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract duration
99% confidenceAbout 3 months and 11 days
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Calculated from the explicit period of 19 October 2026 to 29 January 2027.
Above-threshold status
100% confidenceNo
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Contract 1 aboveThreshold: false.
Extension or options
100% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Supply-chain signal
98% confidenceThe award covers a specialised rail-plate supply requirement with specified material and conformity certification.
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Published requirement description.
Market transparency
100% confidenceLimited-competition procedure and absent bid, pricing and evaluation detail constrain comparison of competitive outcomes.
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The notice identifies a limited competition procedure but supplies no bidder count, tender prices or evaluation results.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier naming difference handled
100% confidenceThe source supplier name includes “(T/A Ferrositi)”, while the verified legal company name is NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED. The verified legal name is used as the supplier identity.
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Supplier verification status is verified by company number; source name mismatch is flagged true.
Lot detail limited
100% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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Lot record contains no title, description or value amount.
Competition and evaluation detail unavailable
100% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, participant list, scores, award rationale or pricing breakdown is present.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The published source name differs from the verified legal company name: it states “NCF Engineering Ltd (T/A Ferrositi)”, while verification identifies NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED. The legal identity used here is based on the verified company-number match.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes tenderer and bid counts, evaluation criteria or scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown, and any extension or renewal terms.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
UKRIHRPD-X Rail PlatesNCF ENGINEERING LIMITEDFerrositilimited competitionpublic procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the UKRI HRPD-X Rail Plates contract?
NCF ENGINEERING LIMITED, verified against company number 07971121. The published supplier name also refers to the trading name Ferrositi.
What is the value of the contract?
The published contract value is £30,196 net and £36,235.20 gross.
When does the contract run?
It is recorded as signed on 18 October 2026 and runs from 19 October 2026 to 29 January 2027.
What procedure was used?
The notice identifies a below-threshold limited competition procurement procedure.
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.