Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
University of South Wales
University of South Wales,, Finance Dept, Llantwit Road
Pontypridd
CF37 1DL
UK
Telephone: +44 1443482386
E-mail: procurement@southwales.ac.uk
NUTS: UKL
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.southwales.ac.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA0315
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
Student Accommodation
II.1.2) Main CPV code
55110000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Student Accommodation through a Nominations Agreement.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
1 042 096.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKL22
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The University of South Wales requires rooms to be secured in support of student recruitment at our Cardiff campus. The requirement is for hall style rooms in Cardiff with a PBSA provider (purpose built student accommodation provider) to secure value rooms for Cardiff students.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price
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 procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation
In September 2024, the Contracting Authority issued a speculative notice to the market regarding a short term (1 year) contract for Student Accommodation providers. The service provider was the only person to respond to the speculative notice, as the short term nature of the contract was not technically viable for other service providers. Having a longer-term contract is not an option for the contracting authority, meaning another provider delivering the contract was a near technical impossibility. It is therefore only possible to award this contract to the provider, as there was an absence of competition.
Due to the conflicting interests of the contracting authority and provider market (i.e. short term requirement v longer term contractual preference) there is a mandatory contractual requirement which prevents any additional providers from being viable. There is no reasonable alternative or substitute. The contract is based upon service need, and the provider is the only one which can meet this technical requirement. This award is justified under Reg 32 and the contract will be awarded on this basis in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024.
To ensure the viability of this service in the future, the Contracting Authority is reviewing its processes and specification to enable them to consider procuring for a longer term contract which may be better suited to the technical requirements of the market.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2025/S 000-014584
Section V: Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
15/05/2025
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 0
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
UNITE STUDENTS LIMITED
The Core, 40 St. Thomas Street
Bristol
BS16JX
UK
Telephone: +44 7525809477
NUTS: UKK23
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 1 042 096.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
(WA Ref:151182)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
High Court
Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
UK
Telephone: +44 2079477501
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
21/05/2025