---
title: "The Economist Subscription for DBIST"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Department for Business and Trade"
published: "2026-10-16"
---

# The Economist Subscription for DBIST

Buyer: Department for Business and Trade  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea.json)

## Summary

The Department for Business & Trade bought a digital corporate subscription to The Economist for colleagues across its business, innovation, science and trade functions, including staff posted overseas. The subscription provides access through The Economist website and app to political, business and economic news, analysis and trends from the UK and around the world, wherever staff are based. It also includes podcasts and events intended to support continuous learning and professional development. This is a digital publication and information-access requirement, rather than a purchase of printed newspapers or a bespoke research service. Delivery is for the department’s staff across the United Kingdom and overseas posts; no single delivery site is identified. The work falls within the newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines category (CPV 22200000).

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. The Department for Business & Trade made a below-threshold direct award without competition under the Procurement Act 2023; it was not divided into multiple lots. The contract was signed on 15 October 2026 and awarded to The Economist Newspaper Limited. The contract period runs from 19 October 2026 to 19 October 2027. Its value is £70,500 excluding VAT and £84,600 including VAT. The award is for the digital corporate subscription covering departmental colleagues, including staff at overseas posts. No separate award date or evaluation criteria are recorded, and the award was made directly rather than through a competitive evaluation.

For suppliers competing when this buyer next procures this requirement, credibility rests on providing an established digital publication subscription that can serve a large, geographically dispersed public-sector workforce, including staff overseas. The package needs to give users access across a website and app to current political, business and economic reporting, analysis and trends relevant to the UK and international affairs. Podcasts and events are also part of the requirement, supporting staff learning and professional development alongside news access. The selected provider was a large specialist publisher, indicating that the buyer chose a supplier able to deliver its own publication and associated digital services at departmental scale. Suppliers with comparable editorial coverage, dependable multi-user digital access and a relevant programme of learning content would be well placed to demonstrate fit with this buyer’s requirement.

## Notice

This procurement was a below threshold direct award under The Procurement Act 2023. It is for a Digital Corporate subscription to The Economist providing access for all Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) colleagues, including staff at post, via the Economist website and app. This subscription allows staff within BIST to sign up for an online account so they can be informed on the latest political, business, and economic developments, analysis and trends, from across the UK and the world on their devices, wherever they are. Access to podcasts and events encourage continuous learning and professional development.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098109-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 19 Oct 2026 - 19 Oct 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £70,500 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Department for Business and Trade |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2DY |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | The Economist Newspaper Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 22 - Printed matter and related products

### Codes

- 22200000 - Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines

## Release History

- 16 Oct 2026 at 15:44 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098109-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098109-2026
  16th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-0789ea. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0789ea.json.