Award

Provision of Law Trove Access

DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

14 Aug 2025 at 10:48

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

30 Jul 2025 at 14:12

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

30 Jul 2025 at 14:04

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

De Montfort University, located in Leicester, has announced the completion of the procurement process for the "Provision of Law Trove Access," primarily focusing on higher education and library services. The direct award contract has been granted to Oxford University Press, acknowledging the latter's exclusive intellectual property rights over Law Trove's extensive legal educational materials. The procurement stage has reached completion status, with the contract set to start on 1st September 2025 and extend until 31st August 2028. The procurement method used was a direct award, justified under specific conditions outlined in the Procurement Act 2023, thereby avoiding additional costs and delays by sidestepping competition where feasible alternatives were deemed unavailable.

This contract opens up significant opportunities for growth in businesses specialising in educational content delivery, intellectual property management, and digital access services. The award primarily benefits large-scale enterprises like Oxford University Press due to their capability to supply specialised, exclusive content efficiently. Companies involved in legal education material provision have the potential to expand on similar contracts where exclusivity in service provision ensures a competitive edge. Additionally, businesses adept at negotiating direct awards can leverage their specialised offerings across educational institutions with unique content needs, similar to the Law Trove service for law programmes at De Montfort University.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Law Trove Access

Notice Description

DMU is seeking access to the leading publisher of legal educational materials, of which Law Trove provides. The content of Law Trove provides fully searchable access to approximately 200 OUP law textbooks covering all modules on the DMU LLB programmes. The subscription would provide access to the service for staff and students across the university. The service is a unique one resulting from OUP's dominant position in the legal publishing field.

Procurement Information

It is proposed, under the Procurement Act 2023, that Direct Awards are permissible under specific circumstances, where competition is not feasible or practical. This justification is that of Schedule 5, Single Suppliers, Section 5 (a)(b): "The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract (a) Due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) There are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works." As noted in the prior rationale, OUP is the leading publisher of legal educational materials and Law Trove provides fully searchable access to approx. 200 law texts. The service Subscription to OUP's Law Trove is a unique one resulting from OUP's dominant position in the legal publishing field. Other Law providers, such as LexisNexis and Westlaw, provide access to a wide range of legal materials including legislation, case law, legal research, legal journals and other materials, but which do not cover the contents of Law Trove. DMU's LLB programmes and requirements can be met with the utilisation of OUP's Law Trove. The direct award ensures that the project remains consistent to budget, appropriate for the LLB courses syllabus and avoiding the potential delays and additional costs associated with seeking multiple alternative providers. Whereas OUP's Law trove affords a single point of access for all required materials

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056945
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/048698-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

CPV Codes

80300000 - Higher education services

92511000 - Library services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£225,528 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£225,528 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20256 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
29 Jul 20256 months ago
Contract Period
31 Aug 2025 - 31 Aug 2028 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@dmu.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LEICESTER
Postcode
LE1 9BH
Post Town
Leicester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF21 Leicester
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Leicester
Electoral Ward
Castle
Westminster Constituency
Leicester South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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