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Portland Press Journals Read and Publish 2027-2029

JISC

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

12 Aug 2026 at 16:14

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

12 Aug 2026 at 11:49

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Jisc is procuring access to Portland Press’s online journals for Jisc member institutions. The service combines preferential-rate subscriptions with the ability to publish open-access articles in those journals. It is a publishing, digital content and subscription service for higher and further education, research and related education organisations across the United Kingdom. The contract is for use by Jisc members rather than for Jisc’s own operational needs. Eligible users include higher and further education institutions, research organisations, specialist colleges, multi-academy trusts, education institutes and qualifying purchasing consortia. The appointed provider is Portland Press Limited, a London-based small and medium-sized enterprise and the publisher of the journal content.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Portland Press Limited. Jisc used a direct award because the supplier is the intellectual-property rightsholder and the sole supplier of this unique resource. The award date was 12 August 2026 and the gross awarded value is £780,000. The contract period is 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029. Contract signature was scheduled for 25 August 2026, with the standstill period ending on 21 August 2026. The opportunity was above the applicable threshold and covered one completed lot. A 1% win fee, calculated against the award value, applied to the successful supplier. The evaluation basis was the direct-award justification rather than a competitive tender.

This award demonstrates established demand from UK education and research organisations for publisher-owned online journals, preferential subscription access and open-access publishing arrangements. A credible future competitor would need rights to the relevant scholarly content, control of the intellectual property or a clearly defensible exclusive distribution position, together with the capacity to provide reliable digital journal access to a dispersed membership base. Experience in institutional subscriptions, licensing, authentication, usage administration and open-access publishing would be directly relevant. Suppliers should also understand higher and further education procurement and consortium purchasing across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The requirement was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, but the successful model depends on unique content ownership and the ability to support Jisc’s broad member categories.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Portland Press Journals Read and Publish 2027-2029

Notice Description

Jisc Services Limited is entering into a contract with Portland Press to give Jisc member institutions the right to subscribe to Portland Press's online journals at preferential rates and publish open access articles in said journals. This contract will be with Jisc Services Limited as a subsidiary of Jisc. This contract is for use by Jisc Members only and not for Jisc's own use.

Procurement Information

The supplier is the rightsholder to the IP of the content and the sole supplier of this unique resource.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e267
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076938-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

22 - Printed matter and related products

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

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

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

22212000 - Periodicals

48000000 - Software package and information systems

72320000 - Database services

79980000 - Subscription services

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£780,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
12 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 31 Dec 2029 3-4 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
JISC
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
BS1 6NB
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)
TLK51 Bristol, City of
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Bristol, City of
Electoral Ward
Central
Westminster Constituency
Bristol Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

PORTLAND PRESS LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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