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Provision of support services for TRAC and understanding academic and financial sustainability of the UK higher education sector

Office for Students

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

20 Jul 2026 at 15:52

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

07 May 2026 at 10:38

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

11 Mar 2026 at 15:24

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Office for Students, on behalf of the UK-wide Regulators and Funders Financial Sustainability Group, procured support services for the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) Development Group and stakeholders across the UK higher education sector. The work covers a central support function for TRAC, together with support for understanding academic and financial sustainability in higher education. It includes services for UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies and other sector stakeholders. This is a financial management consultancy services opportunity, delivered across the United Kingdom. The buyer is the Office for Students, a central government public authority. The requirement is relevant to consultancies that advise on higher education finance, costing, financial sustainability and related sector-wide support functions.

The procurement has been awarded following a completed open procedure. One lot was evaluated on price (24%) and quality (76%), with three bids reaching the final stage. KPMG LLP was selected as supplier on 20 July 2026 for £2,500,000 gross (£2,083,333.33 excluding VAT). The contract period is 15 September 2026 to 14 September 2028, with an option to extend for a further two years, to 14 September 2030. The tender submission deadline was 3 June 2026 at 11:00, and the award decision period ended on 7 July 2026. The contract is above the relevant threshold and covered by the Government Procurement Agreement. Electronic submissions in English were allowed.

This award demonstrates established public-sector demand for specialist support around TRAC, higher education costing and the financial sustainability of the UK higher education sector. A credible future competitor would need to combine financial management consultancy with a strong understanding of how higher education institutions, funding bodies and regulators operate. The requirement favoured quality substantially more than price, so evidence of robust methodologies, technically strong advice and effective stakeholder support would be important. Suppliers should also be able to provide a reliable central coordination function for a sector-wide development group and communicate with varied public-sector and academic stakeholders. The procurement was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises, although all three final-stage bids came from outside those categories.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of support services for TRAC and understanding academic and financial sustainability of the UK higher education sector

Notice Description

The Office for Students, on behalf of the UK wide Regulators and Funders Financial Sustainability Group (RFG) is seeking to identify a contractor capable of delivering support services to the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) Development Group (TDG) and UK higher education sector stakeholders (including UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies) and providing a central support function for TRAC.

Planning Information

See the questionnaire hosted in Delta. The OfS is interested in suppliers views on the proposed up coming procurement process, to put in place a contract for the provision of support services for TRAC and understanding academic and financial sustainability of the UK higher education sector. Suppliers are asked to complete the questionnaire and return it by Friday 27 March.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066777
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068379-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79412000 - Financial management consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,083,333 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,083,333 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£2,083,333 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
3 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Apr 2026Expired
Award Date
20 Jul 20261 months ago
Contract Period
15 Sep 2026 - 14 Sep 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Office for Students
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS34 8SR
Postcode Area
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Gifford
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

KPMG LLP

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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