---
title: "003869 - Business Rates Retention (Forecasting and Appeals) Software"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Durham County Council"
published: "2026-08-20"
---

# 003869 - Business Rates Retention (Forecasting and Appeals) Software

Buyer: Durham County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd

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## Summary

Durham County Council procured an industry-specific software package for business rates retention, forecasting and appeals. The system supports the statutory task introduced by the Local Government Finance Act 2012: billing authorities must calculate and forecast the business rates they are likely to collect during a financial year. The requirement is for software rather than implementation works or general IT services, with the council as the buyer. Delivery is for Durham County Council in the North East of England. The procurement concerned business-rate forecasting and appeals functionality, making it relevant to suppliers of specialist local-government finance software, revenue-management platforms and associated software products.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Inform Holdings Ltd. The award was made on 30 June 2026 for £51,721.50 including the stated currency of GBP. The contract runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029. The tender submission deadline was 29 June 2026. Durham County Council used a selective procedure, specifically a direct call-off from the G-Cloud 14 Framework Agreement, rather than an open competition. The requirement was classified as goods and the tender had an estimated value of £51,721.50. The recorded award is active, with Inform Holdings Ltd named as the selected supplier.

For suppliers assessing future requirements from Durham County Council, this award demonstrates demand for specialist software that supports business rates retention, statutory collection forecasting and appeals management. A credible competitor would need a mature product focused on local-government revenues, with functionality that helps billing authorities calculate expected business-rate income and manage appeal-related work. Experience of the statutory framework introduced by the Local Government Finance Act 2012 would help demonstrate practical relevance. The procurement route also indicates that suppliers seeking comparable work should understand public-sector framework arrangements, particularly G-Cloud call-offs. The opportunity was recorded as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises, although the selected supplier was a large company.

## Notice

The Local Government Finance Act 2012 introduced the localisation of business rates with a statutory requirement placed on all billing authorities to calculate and forecast how much business rates they are likely to collect in the financial year. Direct Call Off from G-Cloud 14 Framework Agreement

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/da65eca5-bbfa-4ff9-a9d3-425eaea7056d |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 29 Jun 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Jul 2026 - 30 Jun 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £51,721 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £51,721 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Durham County Council |
| Locality | DURHAM |
| Postcode area | Durham |
| Postcode | DH1 5UQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC41 Durham |
| Local authority | County Durham |
| Electoral ward | Framwellgate & Newton Hall |
| Westminster constituency | City of Durham |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Inform Holdings Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems

### Codes

- 48100000 - Industry specific software package

## Release History

- 20 Aug 2026 at 15:05 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/da65eca5-bbfa-4ff9-a9d3-425eaea7056d

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/da65eca5-bbfa-4ff9-a9d3-425eaea7056d
  20th August 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b54ea918-8602-4a34-9efc-468f97c6b6dd.json.