---
title: "Specialist Legal Advice for Land and Property Transactions"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF KEELE"
published: "2026-04-13"
---

# Specialist Legal Advice for Land and Property Transactions

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF KEELE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4

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## Summary

The University of Keele has completed its procurement process by awarding a contract to Osborne Clarke LLP for providing specialist legal advice related to complex land and property transactions. This procurement, officially completed on 4 February 2026, solidifies a direct award approach, justified by the Procurement Act 2023 to avoid excessive time and costs associated with engaging a new supplier. The contract will last until 3 February 2030 and is valued at £400,000. The procurement falls within the legal services industry category and pertains to the region of Staffordshire, United Kingdom.

This tender presents growth opportunities for businesses within the legal services sector, particularly those with expertise in complex land and property transactions. However, due to its specific nature, it favours firms with established knowledge of the University’s transactional history and intricate agreements like Osborne Clarke LLP. Businesses aiming to compete in such tenders should focus on building a comprehensive understanding of the client’s historical context and demonstrate a strategic approach in their methodologies. The procurement method used here highlights the importance of possessing unique, supplier-specific expertise in winning direct awards.

## Notice

Following the publication of a Transparency Notice on 23 December 2025 and a Contract Award Notice on 13 January 2026, University of Keele is publishing this Contract Details Notice to announce, in accordance with its statutory obligations under Section 53 of the Procurement Act 2023, that it has awarded a contract to Osborne Clarke LLP for the provision of specialist legal advice relating to complex land and property transactions. This direct award is justified under Paragraphs 7, 13 and 14 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. The services require a strategic review of, and advice on, highly complex and long standing legal and financial structures. The successful delivery of these services is contingent upon a deep and specific understanding of a unique transactional history, comprising multi-layered agreements and involving multiple specific parties and intricate relationships. Osborne Clarke LLP was previously engaged by the University to conduct an initial high level scoping review of this specific matter. As a result, they now possess pre-existing, supplier-specific expertise and a demonstrated understanding of the transaction's particularities. This includes a detailed, phased methodology for the work, developed during the initial engagement. Appointing any alternative supplier would require them to acquire this specific expertise and experience. This would necessitate a substantial duplication of effort and cost, and an unacceptable period of mobilisation, resulting in: 1. Potential material duplication of cost for the University; and 2. Detrimental delays in the delivery of time-critical advice, which would prevent the University from achieving its immediate and lasting operational and financial objectives. The award of this contract to Osborne Clarke LLP represents the only viable route to secure the required services in a timely and cost-effective manner, as a competitive procurement process would be objectively unsuitable in these specific circumstances.

### Procurement Information

Following the publication of a Transparency Notice on 23 December 2025 and a Contract Award Notice on 13 January 2026, University of Keele is publishing this Contract Details Notice to announce, in accordance with its statutory obligations under Section 53 of the Procurement Act 2023, that it has awarded a contract to Osborne Clarke LLP for the provision of specialist legal advice relating to complex land and property transactions. This direct award is justified under Paragraphs 7, 13 and 14 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. The services require a strategic review of, and advice on, highly complex and long standing legal and financial structures. The successful delivery of these services is contingent upon a deep and specific understanding of a unique transactional history, comprising multi-layered agreements and involving multiple specific parties and intricate relationships. Osborne Clarke LLP was previously engaged by the University to conduct an initial high level scoping review of this specific matter. As a result, they now possess pre-existing, supplier-specific expertise and a demonstrated understanding of the transaction's particularities. This includes a detailed, phased methodology for the work, developed during the initial engagement. Appointing any alternative supplier would require them to acquire this specific expertise and experience. This would necessitate a substantial duplication of effort and cost, and an unacceptable period of mobilisation, resulting in: 1. Potential material duplication of cost for the University; and 2. Detrimental delays in the delivery of time-critical advice, which would prevent the University from achieving its immediate and lasting operational and financial objectives. The award of this contract to Osborne Clarke LLP represents the only viable route to secure the required services in a timely and cost-effective manner, as a competitive procurement process would be objectively unsuitable in these specific circumstances.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033491-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Dec 2025 |
| Contract period | 4 Feb 2026 - 3 Feb 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £400,000 |
| Contracts value | £400,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF KEELE |
| Locality | KEELE, STAFFORDSHIRE, |
| Post town | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Postcode | ST5 5NB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG2 Shropshire and Staffordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG24 Staffordshire CC |
| Local authority | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| Electoral ward | Keele |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | OSBORNE CLARKE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79100000 - Legal services

## Release History

- 13 Apr 2026 at 17:21 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033491-2026
- 13 Jan 2026 at 13:45 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002675-2026
- 23 Dec 2025 at 16:14 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085970-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033491-2026
  13th April 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002675-2026
  13th January 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085970-2025
  23rd December 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.keele.ac.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.osborneclarke.com/

## 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-05fce4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fce4.json.