AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
North East Combined Authority has concluded a direct, below-threshold contract with SDN MESMA GROUP LTD for employer engagement to support apprenticeship pathways. The contract is valued at £24,950 gross and runs from 21 October 2026 to 31 July 2027.
Published outcomeAward 1 and its associated contract are active. The published contract record states that it was signed on 20 October 2026.
Market significanceThis is a small, direct public-sector services engagement covering employer outreach, apprenticeship awareness, engagement data and impact reporting in the North East.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
SDN MESMA GROUP LTD
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 24950 GBP · Verified supplier; active award and contract
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The supplier is identified on award 1. Its GB-COH identifier 05945050 matches the verified company number and verified company name. Contract 1, linked to award 1, has a gross value of £24,950.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidence21 October 2026
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Contract details notice published at 2026-10-21T08:38:48+01:00.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 has status 'active'.
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 has status 'active'.
Contract signed
99% confidence20 October 2026
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Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-10-20T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period
99% confidence21 October 2026 to 31 July 2027
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Contract 1 period gives startDate 2026-10-21 and endDate 2027-07-31.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value
99% confidence£24,950 gross
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Contract 1 value records amountGross £24,950 and currency GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceSingle contract linked to award 1 and lot 1
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Contract 1 references awardID 1; award 1 references related lot 1 and one supplier.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence20 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-20.
Contract start
99% confidence21 October 2026
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Contract 1 startDate is 2026-10-21.
Interim report
94% confidenceJanuary/February 2027
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Tender description requires an interim report in January/February 2027.
Contract end
99% confidence31 July 2027
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Contract 1 endDate is 2027-07-31.
Final impact report
94% confidenceJuly/August 2027
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Tender description requires a final impact report in July/August 2027.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service objective
98% confidenceIncrease employer participation in apprenticeship programmes and engagement with apprenticeship opportunities, funding and support.
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Tender description states these objectives.
Targeted engagement
98% confidenceAt least 25 employers engaged with North East Ambition programmes involving targeted schools, colleges and young people.
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Tender description specifies a minimum of 25 employers.
Supplier deliverables
98% confidenceMonthly monitoring returns, termly review meetings, employer engagement and feedback data, apprenticeship-vacancy data, and interim and final impact reports.
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Tender description lists these required contractor outputs.
Service category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 lists mainProcurementCategory as services.
Classifications
97% confidenceResearch and development consultancy; advertising and marketing; education and training services.
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Award item classifications cite CPV 73200000, 79340000 and 80000000.
Delivery regions
98% confidenceUKC14 and UKC2
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Award item deliveryAddresses list regions UKC14 and UKC2.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceDirect procurement
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Tender procurementMethod is 'direct'.
Procurement detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - without competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails states 'Below threshold - without competition'.
Competition information
97% confidenceNo competition was used; bid count and evaluation information were not supplied.
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The published method detail says without competition; no bid or evaluation fields are provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract period
99% confidence21 October 2026 to 31 July 2027
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Contract 1 period specifies these dates.
Term length
97% confidenceApproximately 9 months and 11 days
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Calculated from the explicit contract start and end dates.
Threshold status
99% confidenceBelow threshold
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Contract 1 records aboveThreshold as false.
Monitoring and governance
98% confidenceMonthly monitoring returns and termly review meetings are required.
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Tender description lists both deliverables.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial model
99% confidenceA fixed published gross contract value of £24,950 is recorded for the single award and contract.
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Contract 1 links to award 1 and records £24,950 gross.
Delivery focus
96% confidencePerformance evidence is likely to centre on employer engagement, feedback, apprenticeship vacancies and scheduled impact reporting.
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These are listed contractor deliverables in the tender description.
Route-to-market observation
99% confidenceThe buyer used a direct below-threshold route without competition.
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Tender procurementMethodDetails states 'Below threshold - without competition'.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity
99% confidenceVerified
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The supplier was matched by GB-COH company number 05945050 to SDN MESMA GROUP LTD.
Notice completeness
98% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice includes an award decision date, bid count, evaluation rationale, scoring, pricing breakdown, lot title and lot-level value.
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These fields are absent or null in the supplied record.
Scope wording
99% confidenceThe published description begins with an apparent typographical omission: 'o increase employer participation'.
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This wording appears in the supplied tender description.
Report timing alignment
97% confidenceThe final impact report is described as due in July/August 2027, while the stated contract end date is 31 July 2027.
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Both timings are stated in the supplied data; the notice does not explain how an August report would be treated.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes the award decision date, bid count, evaluation rationale, scores, pricing breakdown, lot title and individual lot value.
- No extension, option or renewal terms are published; a follow-on opportunity cannot be inferred.
- The final impact report is listed for July/August 2027 although the contract ends on 31 July 2027; the notice does not clarify delivery arrangements for any August reporting.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
SDN MESMA GROUP LTDNorth East Combined AuthorityBoosting Apprenticeship Pathwaysapprenticeship employer engagementpublic procurementdirect award
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Boosting Apprenticeship Pathways (Employers) contract?
SDN MESMA GROUP LTD, verified against Companies House number 05945050.
What is the contract value?
The published gross contract value is £24,950.
When does the contract run?
It runs from 21 October 2026 to 31 July 2027.
Was the contract competitively tendered?
No. The notice describes 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.