Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
THE HERBARIUM
KEW GREEN
TW93AE
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKI75 - Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames
Companies House
803428
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Environment
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
RBGKEW1500 - Seed viability X-ray cabinet
Reference number
RBGKEW1500
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 33111000 - X-ray devices
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
The Millennium Seed Bank laboratories (RBG Kew) are seeking to update their X-Ray Machine to continue supporting the assessment of quality seed collections during the cleaning and processing stage to assess the final number of "good" seeds prior to banking, which allows to keep the collections to be kept at top quality.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £150,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKC - North East (England)
- UKD - North West (England)
- UKE - Yorkshire and the Humber
- UKF - East Midlands (England)
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
- UKH - East of England
- UKI - London
- UKJ - South East (England)
- UKK - South West (England)
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Millennium Seed Bank laboratories (RBG Kew) are seeking to update their X-Ray Machine to continue supporting the assessment of quality seed collections during the cleaning and processing stage to assess the final number of "good" seeds prior to banking, which allows to keep the collections to be kept at top quality.
Market route via Single Tender Action is justified because early market engagement demonstrated that competition is absent for technical reasons, with no reasonable alternative or substitute available that can meet RBG Kew's combined scientific and IT compliance requirements.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
The STA is justified because early market engagement demonstrated that competition is absent for technical reasons, with no reasonable alternative or substitute available that can meet RBG Kew's combined scientific and IT compliance requirements.
The supplier is offering a highly competitive price for a state-of-the-art unit, along with maintenance support that will ensure core operations can continue and enable new research activities, such as efficient measurement of X-ray seed density. The equipment's specifications, specialised agricultural/seed-focused design, and accompanying software are not available from other suppliers.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
9 December 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Southern Scientific Limited
Scientific House, Henfield Business Pk, Shoreham Rd,Henfield
West Sussex,
BN5 9SL
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
01800317
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £150,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Head of Procurement & Contract Management, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Herbarium, Kew Green
London
TW9 3AE
Country
United Kingdom