Contract award
Network Rail proposes 20 million pound direct award to Vertiq for lifts
By Staff Writer | 09-09-2026
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited has published a transparency notice of its intention to award a 20,000,000 pound contract, excluding VAT, to Explore 2050 Engineering Limited, trading as Vertiq, for the design, manufacture, installation, testing and commissioning of the Vertiq Modular Lift and associated services. The award is to be made directly, without competition, under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023. The notice was published on Find a Tender on 8 September 2026 at 12.18pm.
What is being bought
The requirement, under Network Rail reference NR/2026/VML/001, is described as a fully integrated off-site manufactured modular lift solution, including factory-based manufacture, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning and associated support services. The notice records that the arrangement establishes a framework, that the maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers is nil, and that the contracting authority that may use it is GBR, with the location restriction given as the United Kingdom.
The contract value is 20,000,000 pounds excluding VAT and 24,000,000 pounds including VAT, above the relevant threshold. The earliest date the contract will be signed is 19 November 2026. The estimated contract dates are 1 December 2026 to 30 June 2028, a period of one year and seven months. The main procurement category is works and the CPV classification is 45313100, lift installation work. The special regime is utilities.
Why there is no competition
Network Rail relies on Schedule 5, paragraph 1 of the Procurement Act 2023, absence of competition for technical reasons. The notice states that Network Rail reviewed currently available market solutions and engaged with suppliers active within the lift and modular construction sectors to assess whether alternatives could meet its requirements. It concluded that it had not identified any reasonable alternative supplier capable of delivering a fully integrated off-site manufactured modular lift solution that satisfies its operational, safety, installation, programme delivery and standardisation requirements, and that competition is therefore absent for technical reasons. The direct award justification field reads: single supplier, technical reasons, there are no other compliant products in the market at this current time.
The notice sets out why an off-site manufactured solution is said to be necessary: to minimise passenger and operational disruption, reduce on-site construction activities, reduce railway possession requirements, improve installation certainty and support the efficient delivery of accessibility and station upgrade programmes across the Network Rail estate.
The break clause
The proposed contract term is limited to 18 months and includes a break clause exercisable by Network Rail after 12 months. The notice says the break clause reflects Network Rail's intention to undertake further market testing and assess whether effective competition has emerged for future requirements. Under the options field, the contract carries the right to additional purchases while it is valid, and the break clause at month 12 is described as enabling additional market research to establish the timing for a full tender.
The notice lists what Network Rail intends to do at that point: undertake further market analysis, assess emerging modular lift solutions and suppliers, review continued value for money, and determine whether future requirements should be subject to a competitive procurement process. Evidence supporting the direct award decision, including market analysis, supplier engagement records and technical assessments, is said to be retained within the procurement file.
Explore 2050 Engineering Limited is recorded with Companies House number 04040804 and an address at Bridge Place, Anchor Boulevard, Admirals Park, Dartford, DA2 6SN, in the Kent Thames Gateway region. The notice records it as not a small or medium-sized enterprise. The notice states that the contract is particularly suitable for SMEs, and that a conflicts assessment has been prepared or revised.
The contracting authority is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, Waterloo General Office, London, SE1 8SW, a public authority in central government. The notice is a transparency notice published under section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 in advance of the proposed award; it is not itself the award. The notice does not say how many lifts the 20,000,000 pound sum is expected to buy, at which stations they would be installed, or how the framework value would be drawn down, and nothing on those points should be inferred.