Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2022/S 000-002743/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Services

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Postal address: Defence Equipment & Support, MOD Abbey Wood South, LEOC-STSP-DCC, NH3 Cedar 2A #4110, Stoke Gifford
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Lisa Sinfield
Telephone: +44 3001666082
Email: Lisa.Sinfield100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: FNHUK Combined Support Services Contract

Reference number: 702630462
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 50620000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The Authority intends to award a contract to FNH UK Ltd for the provision of combined support, supply and repair services in respect of the UK Armed Forces Commands in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries. The contract will be for a 5-year period and will include the provision of a technical support service and will enable the procurement of additional in-service weapons, if required.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:1500000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 35321300

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This contract will provide a combination of support, supply and repair services for the in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries, that will ensure the UK Armed Forces Commands can meet their enduring and future capability needs. This contract will include the provision of a technical support service and enable the procurement of additional in-service weapons, if required.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
Options will be available on the contract to procure additional in-service weapons and/or ancillaries. There will not be an option available to extend the term of the contract.

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
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice(in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU)
IV.1.3) Information about framework agreement
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: 702630462
Title: FNHUK Combined Support Services Contract

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2022-01-27
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: FNH UK Limited
Postal address: Phoenix House, Slade Green Road
Town: Erith, Kent
Postal code: DA8 2HU
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1322338052
Email: ashley.franks@fnhuk.com
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: yes

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Postal address: Defence Equipment & Support, MOD Abbey Wood South, LEOC-STSP-DCC, NH3 Cedar 2A #4110, Stoke Gifford
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3001666082
E-mail: Lisa.Sinfield100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address:

VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Postal address: Defence Equipment & Support, MOD Abbey Wood South, LEOC-STSP-DCC, NH3 Cedar 2A #4110, Stoke Gifford
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3001666082
E-mail: Lisa.Sinfield100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address:

VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Postal address: Defence Equipment & Support, MOD Abbey Wood South, LEOC-STSP-DCC, NH3 Cedar 2A #4110, Stoke Gifford
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3001666082
E-mail: Lisa.Sinfield100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address:

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2022-01-31

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without publication of a call for competition in accordance with
Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment,study or development under the conditions
stated in the directive(for services and supplies only)
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
absence of competition for technical reasons

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
The Dismounted Close Combat programme team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to place a 5-year contract with FNH UK Ltd for the Combined Support, Supply and Repair of the in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries, that includes a technical support service and the provision to procure additional in-service weapons, if required.
In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service is lawful in accordance with Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for Technical Reasons.
This is because FNH UK Ltd are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) and are the only economic entity with access to the necessary technical information, knowledge and expertise, for the machine guns and ancillaries comprised in this contract. FNH UK Ltd are the only economic entity with the capability and access necessary to provide the required technical support to ensure it complies with the Authority’s specification, maintains the operational performance and effectiveness of the weapon systems, and ability to underwrite the integrity of any possible modifications to the weapons systems as a result of a potential safety investigation.
As part of the Contract, should the Authority wish to procure additional equipment comprised under this single-source framework enabling arrangement during the contract term, FNH UK Ltd is the only supplier able to supply the current in-service weapons. A change of supplier would oblige the Authority to acquire different weapons with different technical characteristics that would affect the interoperability of the equipment. Having users that were trained and operating similar weapons with different characteristics would lead to an unacceptable level of safety risk with the operational performance of the weapons, even if additional configuration control measures, training measures, supplementary technical documentation and user manuals were in place.