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Oxford Law Trove Subscription

UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

19 Aug 2026 at 15:49

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

19 Aug 2026 at 15:41

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Essex procured an electronic subscription to the Oxford Law Trove platform, providing extensive legal materials for its law staff and student population. The requirement supports the university’s law degree provision and gives users access to content in a digital format, including outside the physical library’s opening hours. This is a specialist information and library subscription service, classified under CPV 79980000 (subscription services). The service relates to the university’s legal education activity in Colchester and is intended for use by University of Essex staff and students. The platform and its content are supplied by Oxford University Press, which owns the relevant intellectual property rights.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Oxford University Press on 19 August 2026. The University of Essex used a direct award procedure for one completed lot, relying on the unique Oxford Law Trove content, Oxford University Press’s intellectual property rights and the platform’s availability from a single supplier. The award value is £275,000 excluding VAT and £330,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029. A contract signature milestone was scheduled for 1 September 2026. The award is active, the contract is for services, and the procurement is above the relevant threshold.

This award demonstrates established demand from a higher education provider for specialist, digital legal research content supporting law teaching and study. Suppliers seeking comparable work would need authoritative legal materials, a reliable electronic platform and the rights to provide that content to university users. The requirement favoured a publisher with exclusive intellectual property rights over distinctive content, rather than a general library technology or document supplier. Credible competitors for similar University of Essex requirements would therefore need strong academic legal publishing credentials, appropriate licensing arrangements, secure and dependable online access, and the organisational capacity to support staff and students across the university. Oxford University Press’s role also indicates that a large specialist information provider can meet this requirement.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Oxford Law Trove Subscription

Notice Description

The University wishes to procure a three year subscription to the Oxford Law Trove platform for the student population commencing on the 1st September 2026. As a provider of Law degrees Unviersity of Essex must provide its staff and students with access to extensive range of legal materials. Sourcing this material in an electronic format is preferable for our staff / students to access the content at their convenience outside of the physical library's opening hours. The content included within Oxford Law Trove is unique and Oxford University Press own the IPR for this and the Law Trove platform. This means the services are only available from this one supplier.

Procurement Information

As a provider of Law degrees University of Essex must provide its staff and students with access to extensive range of legal materials. Sourcing this material in an electronic format is preferable for our staff / students to access the content at their convenience outside of the physical library's opening hours. The content included within Oxford Law Trove is unique and Oxford University Press own the IPR for this and the Law Trove platform. This means the services are only available from this one supplier.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e7e4
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079133-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award 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

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

CPV Codes

79980000 - Subscription services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£275,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
19 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 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
UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
COLCHESTER
Postcode
CO4 3SQ
Postcode Area
Colchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH34 Essex Haven Gateway
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Colchester
Electoral Ward
Wivenhoe
Westminster Constituency
Harwich and North Essex

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Oxford University Press

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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