Awarded contract

(VEAT Notice) - OPM-Optimised Bespoke Magnetically Shielded Room

Details

Buyer: Aston University
Supplier(s): Cerca Magnetics Limited
Value: £797,000
Duration: 5 years
Topic: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
Published: 12 December 2023
Source: uk:contracts_finder

Tender description

Aston University is putting out this notice as a VEAT (Voluntary Ex ante Transparency Notice). It is the intention of Aston University to award a 5-year contract for the supply, installation, service and maintenance of an OPM-optimised bespoke magnetically shielded room to from June 2024 to May 2029 to Cerca Magnetics Limited. Aston University intends to award the contract without a call for competition in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ((32.2(b) ii. • The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: • absence of competition for technical reasons Aston University requires a magnetically-shielded environment to support the use of OPM-magnetoencephalography. Cerca Magnetics Limited offer a unique patented shielded room system which incorporates built-in degaussing to remove residual magnetisation and reduce the static magnetic field; and electromagnetic coils which allow high fidelity control of residual fields and their variation over space inside the MSR. This level of static/residual field control is required for the scientific work with OPM-MEG that Aston University intends to conduct within the shielded room. The University will not enter the proposed contract before 22 November 2023.

Timeline

Completed: Award published12 December 2023
Current notice
Completed: Award date1 June 2024
Next: Contract expiry date30 May 2029in 3 years

About the buyer

Aston University is a higher education provider in Birmingham, and buys through a dedicated Procurement Team. Tender opportunities are advertised on ProContract, the university's e-tendering system, where suppliers register free to respond. Larger contracts also appear on Find a Tender Service, with Contracts Finder used for smaller notices. Low-value construction work can be sourced through Constructionline. Much of this procurement flows through frameworks including SUPC, TUCO, ESPO and the Crown Commercial Service. The Procurement Team also maintains a Contracts Register of awarded tenders and framework agreements. All procurement follows financial regulations and University policy.

Education procurement reached £47.4bn in 2024/25, the fourth-largest public sector budget.

Over the past 5 years, most of Aston University's contract awards have been in laboratory and precision equipment, construction work and software and information systems.

Relevant CPV codes

38000000 · Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@aston-university.gov