Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
University Of Edinburgh
Charles Stewart House, 9-16 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1HT
UK
Telephone: +44 1316502759
E-mail: aoughton@ed.ac.uk
NUTS: UKM75
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://www.ed.ac.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00107
I.2) Joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Education
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Purchase of an Electrophysiology System
Reference number: NCA21372
II.1.2) Main CPV code
38000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
II.1.4) Short description
Purchase of an Electrophysiology System
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
128 734.38
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM75
Main site or place of performance:
University of Edinburgh
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This system is being procured to accelerate research already underway and complements existing systems used by the research group and their partners. Any risks to the consistency of this research based on altering established workflows and by introducing system interfaces between differing manufacturers needs to be removed. Specifically, matching the parts on this electrophysiology rig with those on an existing microscope systems used by the researchers means experiments that require to combine information from both high-resolution microscopy and electrophysiology can be conducted in the same environment, using an identical set up and key components which is crucial for enabling accuracy and translatability between the two systems. In addition, the research group collaborates in their work and associated experiments with another research body who also use this system. Continuity is a key issue given switching between manufacturers would introduce too much variability in the data as such experiments are highly sensitive to even small changes in protocol and would require experimental protocols to be re-designed and optimised from scratch. Therefore, the procurement of this instrument has been awarded directly with Scientifica via an NCA.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: Technical
/ Weighting: 100
Price
/ Weighting:
0
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation
Due to reasons listed in the contract details, the University of Edinburgh is awarding this contract without prior publication due to a lack of competition on technical grounds.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: NCA21372
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
12/12/2025
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Scientifica LTD
1a kingfisher court,, bellbrook industrial estate
uckfield
tn22 1qq
UK
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 128 734.38
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
(SC Ref:830018)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Edinburgh Sherriff Court
Edinburgh
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
22/04/2026