A tender that closes with no winner is a lot result the buyer has recorded as closed, with a stated reason and nobody awarded. The reason code is the part worth reading before anyone calls the buyer. A closed result does not, on its own, mean that nobody submitted a bid.
Across TED contract-award notices for the EU27 and Norway, published from October 2025 to September 2026, 17.3% of decided lot results closed with no winner. The denominator is results coded closed with no winner, plus results that selected a winner. Finland is at 19.1%, 2,335 of 12,233, rank 8 of 28. Malta is at 25.0%. Luxembourg is at 5.8%.
That ranking says how often a decided lot ends without an award. It does not say why. The reason codes below are a shorter Finnish cut, and a different population from the 19.1%.
The stated reason, on one Finnish fortnight
TED standard contract notices with a Finnish buyer, published from 1 to 24 October 2026, contain 214 lot results with the status closed with no winner. Of those 214, 105 cite a technical or procedural error.
The reason codes, and what to do with each
Each of the 214 results carries one buyer-reported code.
| Stated reason | Lot results | Share of the 214 |
|---|---|---|
| Technical or procedural error | 105 | 49.1% |
| Buyer need changed | 32 | 15.0% |
| No tenders received | 24 | 11.2% |
| Other stated reason | 22 | 10.3% |
| All tenders rejected | 16 | 7.5% |
| Only one admissible tender | 8 | 3.7% |
| Insufficient funds | 4 | 1.9% |
| Buyer revoked the procedure | 3 | 1.4% |
These are lot results, not notices. The same publication window holds 718 lot results in total, of which 501 selected a winner. The 214 closed-without-winner results sit inside 80 notices. Sixty-nine of those notices contain only closed-without-winner results.
Read the code before chasing the buyer.
A technical or procedural error is the buyer’s stated reason on 105 results. The code records that the buyer closed the procedure for that reason. It does not identify who caused the error. Watch for a new notice. The old procedure is closed.
A changed need, 32 results, means the buyer has said the requirement moved. The same specification is the wrong thing to chase. A revoked procedure, 3 results, is the buyer withdrawing the competition.
“No tenders received,” 24 results, means the buyer got nothing to award. That is the code that actually describes an empty submission box. All tenders rejected, 16 results, means submissions arrived and none were admissible. Only one admissible tender, 8 results, is a different outcome again: the buyer had a bid and did not award it under that code.
Insufficient funds, 4 results, is a budget fact. Other, 22 results, is a residual the buyer did not put in a named category. Neither one tells you the documents were wrong.
The same reading applies outside this Finnish fortnight. The code is on the result notice. Watch the buyer for a new notice when the code is a technical or procedural error. Drop the old specification when the code is a changed need. Treat "no tenders received" as a competition the buyer recorded as empty. A closed result is not a promise that the same need will be tendered again.
How long the original notice gave suppliers is a separate question, covered in what a tender response window is.
Sources
- TED Search API v3, contract award notices (can-standard), EU27 and Norway, published October 2025 to September 2026. Share closed with no winner: lot results coded
clos-nw, divided byclos-nwplusselec-w. - TED contract-award results for standard contract notices with a Finnish buyer, published 1 October 2026 through 24 October 2026. Status
clos-nw: 214 lot results. Reason codes sum to 214. This window is separate from the 12-month country ranking. - eForms non-award justification codes.
- eForms winner selection status.
