VARs land on inky £50m-plus universities deal

Quintet of firms awarded consumables contract with two major university consortiums

A clutch of channel players have landed on an ink-laden £50m-plus universities framework agreement.

The North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC) and Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) teamed up to tender for suppliers of office supplies, machines and consumables. A quintet of companies have now been awarded the deal, which could be worth upward of £60m.

Lot one - which covers stationery, paper and other general supplies, as well as "small office machines and electronic office consumables - has been awarded to office supplies specialist Lyreco. The lot is worth an estimated £20.9m, excluding VAT.

The second lot, which covers only consumables - "predominantly virgin ink and toners" - has been handed to five firms: CCS Media; XMA; Supplies Team; Spectrum Computer Supplies; and Lyreco, again. This portion of the deal is worth in the region of £33m. No details on the timeframe of the framework appear to be provided.

The NWUPC serves 28 universities covering the west of England from Worcester up to Cumbria, as well institutions in Wales and Northern Ireland. Helmed by the University of Salford, the CPC covers 2762 institutions, according to its website.