Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
King Charles Street
London
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office
Buyer's address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Humanitarian Emergency Response Operations and Stabilisation (HEROS)
Reference number
ecm_3844 / PO7900
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 75211200 - Foreign economic-aid-related services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Humanitarian Emergency Response Operations and Stabilisation (HEROS)
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:
There are three overarching objectives of this programme:
1. Humanitarian emergency and conflict response management for rapid onset response, protracted crises, chronic emergencies, and humanitarian reform
2. Operational capability and deployments
3. Procurement, logistics and infrastructure expertise and operational capability
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Start date
12 July 2017
End date
31 October 2025
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
ecm_3844 / PO7900
Title
Humanitarian Emergency Response Operations and Stabilisation (HEROS)
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:
2 May 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Palladium International Limited
16th Floor, Hylo, 105 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8LZ
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)
Total value of the procurement: £330,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Cabinet Office
London
Country
United Kingdom
Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession
seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications
seven.1.1) Main CPV code
- 75211200 - Foreign economic-aid-related services
seven.1.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:
There are three overarching objectives of this programme:
1. Humanitarian emergency and conflict response management for rapid onset response, protracted crises, chronic emergencies, and humanitarian reform
2. Operational capability and deployments
3. Procurement, logistics and infrastructure expertise and operational capability
seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Start date
12 July 2017
End date
31 October 2028
seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession:
£330,000,000
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Palladium International Limited
16th Floor, Hylo, 105 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8LZ
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.2) Information about modifications
seven.2.1) Description of the modifications
Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):
This modification will extend the contract for up to 3 years until 31/10/2028. This will be for an initial 2-year period (until 31/10/2027) with a further 1-year period (until 31/10/2028) to be utilised at the authority’s discretion.
seven.2.2) Reasons for modification
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.
Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:
Reasons for modification:
The services provided under the HEROS contract are fully interoperable with FCDO systems and processes for crisis and conflict response and a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. It has become increasingly clear that the services are so closely integrated into FCDO structures, in the manner described below, that further time is needed to clarify and distinguish them. For this reason, no supplier would currently be able to deliver the services other than the incumbent. The work to clearly define the distinction between, and the roles and responsibilities of, the FCDO and a Supplier in relation to the services to be delivered will also minimise incumbent advantage by ensuring the right information is fully available to competitors when the contract is in due course re-procured.
The Management Information system, required for the running of the services, has been jointly developed between the current contractor and the authority. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are split between multiple parties. The contractor also operates leases and licenses on FCDO’s behalf that are critical for the delivery of Core Relief Items (CRIs) to a humanitarian response. A change of contractor at this stage would cause significant inconvenience and a substantial increase in costs.
It is anticipated that a further period of up to 2 years would be needed to undertake the work to distinguish services to the level necessary to commence an effective procurement process and then undertake that process.
Given the complexity of the services and the interoperability of contractor systems with FCDO systems, a further period of approximately 12 months is also expected to be needed to transition to a successful incoming contractor. This is an increase to the originally predicted timeline of around 6 months but will ensure the incoming contractor has sufficient time to mobilise the services effectively.
The FCDO is therefore modifying the contract under Regulation 72 (1) (b) to extend the contract for a period of up to 3 years. This modification does not increase the total value of the contract and is a time-only extension. Whilst the extension of the contract is required, the result will be that FCDO gains the necessary time to minimise incumbent advantage, and to prepare a requirement that maximises the attractiveness of the contract, following Procurement Act 2023 requirements.
seven.2.3) Increase in price
Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)
Value excluding VAT: £330,000,000
Total contract value after the modifications
Value excluding VAT: £330,000,000