Awarded without open competition
Awarded without open competition. The buyer went directly to one or a few suppliers instead of advertising the contract. Procurement rules allow this only in specific cases, such as extreme urgency, when only one supplier can do the work, or for call-offs from an existing framework.
Key facts
- Buyer
- West Midlands Combined Authority · Regional or local authority
- Supplier
- Caf Rail UK Limited
- Value
- £26,662,905
- Procedure
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Sector
- Repair & maintenance · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment (CPV 50220000)
- Region
- West Midlands
- Official notice
- 017691-2026 on Find a Tender
- Timeline
-
- Contract date19 Feb 2026
- Published27 Feb 2026Published 8 days after the contract date
Description
Ongoing technical support, spares supply and additional maintenance services for the fleet of West Midlands 2GT Trams. Additional information: This notice contains information relating to the direct award of a contract by WMCA under the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition in accordance with Regulation 50 (1) (c) (ii) of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016. The technical reasons specified include; Lack of knowledge, skills, experience, competence and appetite in the market. Spare parts required to service the contract can only be sourced from the supplier. Risk of incompatibility with alternative battery solutions and suppliers partnership arrangement with battery manufacturer.
About the supplier
Caf Rail UK Limited: every public contract they have won, plus their Companies House record (company NI051735).