---
title: "CEFAS25-115 Contract for liquid scintillation counter for Cefas laboratory"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05d585"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05d585"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d585.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d585.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE"
published: "2026-01-06"
---

# CEFAS25-115 Contract for liquid scintillation counter for Cefas laboratory

Buyer: CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05d585

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## Summary

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), located in Lowestoft, UK, has successfully awarded a contract for the provision of a liquid scintillation counter, an essential piece of laboratory equipment designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of radioanalytical measurements within its programmes. The procurement process, which was an open procedure under the legal basis of UKPGA 2023/54, began with a tender notice published in October 2025. The contract was awarded to Southern Scientific Limited, an SME based in Henfield, West Sussex, on 12 December 2025, and commenced on 13 December 2025, lasting until 30 April 2027. The total contract value is £228,430 exclusive of VAT, with delivery required no later than late March 2026, ensuring timely adherence to Cefas' financial year requirements.

This tender presents an opportunity for growth for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) like Southern Scientific Limited, who have the ability to provide high-specification scientific equipment that meets stringent operational needs of public authorities such as Cefas. The contract specifically serves the laboratory, optical, and precision equipment industry category, and businesses that specialise in producing precision instrumentation could benefit the most. Potential suppliers would need to demonstrate robust technical capabilities to meet the precise technical specifications and efficiencies, as well as secure financial positioning to handle the contract within the UK's regulatory framework. This procurement exemplifies how innovative solutions and superior technical offerings can open new avenues for competitive suppliers and strengthen their business credentials within governmental procurement circles.

## Notice

The Radioanalytical team at Cefas Lowestoft has a requirement to replace some existing end-of-life equipment with a more efficient and reliable model. The Liquid Scintillation counter will have an exceptionally low background count rate to enable necessary improvements to our already low Limits of Detection to support a range of programmes, including Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE), and to help Cefas develop systems approaches and tackle complex environmental challenges. The Supplier will provide an ultra-Low level Liquid Scintillation counter as follows: 3.1. with substantial passive shielding in addition to active methods of background count reduction (integral guard counter, electronic BGD reduction systems etc) 3.2. provide the lowest achievable background count rates for both alpha and beta determinations 3.3. be capable of alpha/beta discrimination and simultaneous detection and quantification of multiple radionuclides/ROI's (e.g. Plutonium alphas and Pu-241 beta emissions) at low environmental levels as well as the typical H-3, C-14, U-234/238, Ra-226, Rn-222, Y-90, Sr-89 etc 3.4. be capable of detecting beta's up to 2MeV and alpha's up to 10MeV 3.5. have beta efficiencies of at least 35% for samples with significant quench although much higher efficiencies would be anticipated for unquenched samples 3.6. have alpha efficiencies of at least 95% and Cerenkov efficiency of at least 60% 3.7. have in-built cooling to maintain appropriate, stable temperature 3.8. have internal, radioactive standard for quench correction curves 3.9. Power supply to be UK socket compatible.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000752-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 24 Nov 2025 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Nov 2025 |
| Contract period | 13 Dec 2025 - 30 Apr 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £196,000 |
| Lots value | £196,000 |
| Awards value | £228,430 |
| Contracts value | £228,430 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active, Pending |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE |
| Locality | LOWESTOFT |
| Post town | Norwich |
| Postcode | NR33 0HT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH6 Suffolk |
| ITL 3 | TLH63 East Suffolk |
| Local authority | East Suffolk |
| Electoral ward | Kirkley & Pakefield |
| Westminster constituency | Lowestoft |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SOUTHERN SCIENTIFIC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

## Release History

- 6 Jan 2026 at 15:20 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000752-2026
- 1 Dec 2025 at 11:20 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078420-2025
- 28 Oct 2025 at 15:34 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069070-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000752-2026
  6th January 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078420-2025
  1st December 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069070-2025
  28th October 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://atamis-9529.my.site.com/s/Welcome
- https://atamis-9529.my.site.com/s/WelcomeAllbidstobesubmittedviatheaboveeProcurementsystem.
- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-h6vhtk-05d585. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d585.json.