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Legal Services

Office for Students

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

01 Oct 2026 at 16:14

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

28 May 2026 at 15:34

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Office for Students has procured legal services for its work as the regulator of higher education in England. The requirement is divided between general public law and corporate and insolvency law, with advice delivered across the United Kingdom. The general public law lot covers the broader public-law requirement; the second lot is specifically for corporate and insolvency matters. The procurement establishes a closed framework, with suppliers providing legal advice to the Office for Students through call-offs. Within each lot, work is allocated in ranked rotation, subject to conflicts of interest. This is a legal-services requirement rather than a purchase of goods or works.

The procurement is complete and both lots have been awarded following an open procedure. The general public law lot was awarded to Bevan Brittan LLP, DAC Beachcroft LLP and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP for £1,125,000 gross. The corporate and insolvency law lot was awarded to Burges Salmon LLP and TLT LLP for £125,000 gross. Both awards are dated 1 October 2026. The award contract periods run from 26 October 2026 to 25 October 2029, with provision for two 12-month renewals, potentially extending to 25 October 2031. Bids closed on 1 July 2026; the award decision period ended on 7 August 2026. Each lot was evaluated on quality (70%), price (20%) and social value (10%).

This award shows demand for external legal advisers across both general public law and corporate and insolvency matters at the Office for Students. Suppliers competing for similar work would need credible capacity in the relevant legal disciplines and the ability to deliver advice across the United Kingdom. The framework’s ranked rotation makes dependable service delivery and the ability to take on work as allocated commercially important; conflicts must also be managed so that advice can be provided without compromising independence. The selection outcome also shows that quality and social value carried substantially greater combined weight than price, so competitors need to demonstrate strong technical quality and a clear social-value offer alongside competitive pricing. Both lots were identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, while the awarded supplier groups comprised established large law firms.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Legal Services

Notice Description

Provision of legal services to the Office for Students

Lot Information

General public law

Renewal: Two periods of 12 months

Corporate and insolvency law

Renewal: Two periods of 12 months

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a7f0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093006-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79100000 - Legal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,041,667 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,041,667 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,041,667 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Oct 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
1 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
1 Oct 20266 days ago
Contract Period
26 Oct 2026 - 25 Oct 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
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
5
Supplier Names

Bevan Brittan LLP

DAC Beachcroft LLP

Gowling WLG (UK) LLP

Burges Salmon LLP

TLT LLP

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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