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Finance System

CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

23 Oct 2026 at 15:37

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Canterbury Christ Church University is continuing its core finance management system, Unit4 ERP (Agresso). The requirement covers the finance software and associated licences, assurance, maintenance, user support, upgrades and professional services. The system supports the university’s general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, procurement integration and management information. This is business finance software and related support, rather than a standalone software purchase. The award information places delivery across England, with locations spanning the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. The buyer is Canterbury Christ Church University, based in Canterbury.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded to Unit4 Business Software Ltd by direct award. The university’s stated reason was to continue using its existing Unit4 platform: its finance processes, reporting, data and integrations depend on it, and a supplier change was judged to create significant technical and operational challenges, cost, risk and disruption. The award value is £1.4 million excluding VAT (£1.75 million including VAT). The awarded contract period runs from 1 May 2027 to 30 April 2032. A contract signature was scheduled for 20 December 2026. The procurement has one lot. The stated evaluation basis is the technical case for a single supplier and compatibility with the university’s existing systems; no separate scoring criteria are set out.

For suppliers competing when this requirement next reaches the market, the award shows demand for a university-wide finance platform that can support core accounting, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and procurement integration, together with ongoing software assurance, maintenance, support and upgrades. Credibility will depend on demonstrating that the platform can meet those needs while integrating with established internal and third-party applications and handling historical financial data. Suppliers should be prepared to explain migration, redesign, testing and implementation risks, and how disruption to finance operations can be controlled. The buyer’s decision reflects the operational importance of existing processes and integrations, so a credible alternative would need evidence of technical compatibility and a practical transition approach, alongside the capacity to provide sustained professional and product support.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Finance System

Notice Description

Provision of the University's core finance management system, including software licences, software assurance, maintenance, support, upgrades and associated professional services. The system supports key financial processes including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, procurement integration and associated management information requirements.

Procurement Information

The University intends to award a contract directly to Unit4 Business Software Limited for the continued provision of its Unit4 ERP (Agresso) finance management system. The University's finance operations, business processes, reporting structures, integrations and associated data are built around the existing Unit4 platform. The system is integrated with a range of internal and third-party applications and supports critical financial management activities across the institution. The University has concluded that changing supplier at this time would result in significant technical and operational challenges. Replacing the current platform would require extensive system redesign, migration of historical financial data, redevelopment of integrations, business process reconfiguration, testing and user retraining. The resulting incompatibility with existing systems and processes would create substantial implementation risk, cost and disruption to the delivery of important services. The University therefore considers that the circumstances satisfy the direct award justification relating to the absence of competition for technical reasons and the need to maintain compatibility with existing systems, as described in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. Paragraph 27 of the statutory guidance recognises that incompatibility between existing systems and replacement solutions may justify direct award where it would lead to significant cost, delay or complex redesign activities.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-078f6a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100664-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,400,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Oct 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 May 2027 - 30 Apr 2032 Over 5 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
CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CANTERBURY
Postcode
CT1 1QU
Postcode Area
Canterbury
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ44 East Kent
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Canterbury
Electoral Ward
Barton
Westminster Constituency
Canterbury

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Unit4 Business Software Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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