Official UK procurement notice
715904490-UK1-BROADTAIL · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Defence Equipment and Support
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Protect Delivery Team within Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) is preparing to initiate a Competitive Flexible Procedure procurement for an online catalogue of Tactical High Access Climbing Equipment (THACE), training, maintenance and repair. The catalogue of products includes a diverse range of equipment, including but not limited to;
a. Ladders.
b. Hooks.
c. Anchors.
d. Surface Adherents.
e. Poles.
f. Ropes.
g. Slings.
h. Climbing Ancillaries.
i. Connectors.
j. Pulleys.
k. Lanyards.
l. Harnesses.
m. Ascenders.
n. Descenders.
o. Helmets.
p. Gloves.
q. Bags.
r. Tools.
s. Medical Equipment.
t. Personal Escape System (PES).
The contract is for five years with options to extend by an additional five years making the contract a maximum of ten years in duration. The expected spend over the full ten years is £14M (inc VAT).
Throughout the life of the contract the Authority may request that items are added or removed from the catalogue due to evolving nature of the requirement.
- How the procedure runs: Project THACE is currently being procured through the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 ('The Act'). The steps to arrive at a contract award decision are as follows: • Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) – the top 6 compliant suppliers with the highest technical scores shall be invited to Invitation to Tender (ITT). Link to PSQ: https://contracts.mod.uk/go/10293102019FCD0F9F51 • ITT - the estimated ITT release date will be October 2026. The estimated ITT expiry date will be January 2027. Full information on the evaluation criteria will be provided at the ITT stage. • Contract Award – The tenderer offering the best Value for Money (VFM), using the methodology to be laid out in the ITT guidance, will be awarded the contract. The Authority reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to: • Cancel the procurement procedure at any stage. • Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process. • Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b)). • Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a)). • Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1)). If there are any changes to the procedure, this will be set out in the ITT supporting documentation.
- No preliminary market engagement: Pipeline Notice, Opportunity Listing and PSQ all issued.
CPV: Military defence services · Training services in defence and security materials · Wall and rope climbing equipment
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 5 yrs · up to 10 yrs from 1 Apr 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£12,432,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (1)
- Project THACE - Conditions of Participation: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Project THACE - Conditions of Participation: Suppliers will be evaluated in two stages: Stage 1 - Qualification Stage 2 - Technical Only suppliers that pass Stage 1 shall be deemed compliant and progress to Stage 2. Most questions in Stage 1 and 2 are Pass/Fail questions. Questions where a "Fail" or a score of 0 will result in exclusion from the competition has been clearly identified within the evaluation criteria against each question within the Project THACE - Conditions of Participation document. Questions (apart from the 'Quality Assurance' question) within the 'Technical Ability and Project Experience' (within Stage 2) section of the PSQ are weighted and and scored (0,30,70,100). The section weighting is 100%.
- “715904490-UK1-BROADTAIL” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 29 Jul 2026, 12:39 BST
- Last source update
- 4 Aug 2026, 15:28 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Mar 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-073811- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d65fFind a Tender
- How it runs
Project THACE is currently being procured through the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 ('The Act').
The steps to arrive at a contract award decision are as follows:
- Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) – the top 6 compliant suppliers with the highest technical scores shall be invited to Invitation to Tender (ITT).
Link to PSQ: contracts.mod.uk/go/10293102019FCD0F9F51 ↗
- ITT - the estimated ITT release date will be October 2026. The estimated ITT expiry date will be January 2027. Full information on the evaluation criteria will be provided at the ITT stage.
- Contract Award – The tenderer offering the best Value for Money (VFM), using the methodology to be laid out in the ITT guidance, will be awarded the contract.
The Authority reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to:
- Cancel the procurement procedure at any stage.
- Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process.
- Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b)).
- Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a)).
- Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1)).
If there are any changes to the procedure, this will be set out in the ITT supporting documentation.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Appointment period ends
- 14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 7 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
PSQ responses to be submitted to the Authority via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) by the 14/09/2026. Responses via any of medium will not be accepted.
Link to the PSQ: contracts.mod.uk/go/10293102019FCD0F9F51 ↗
Link to Opportunity Notice: contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗
Timeline
29 Jul 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published87 days ago29 Jul 2026, 12:39 BST
- Next notice expected85 days ago31 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published81 days ago4 Aug 2026, 15:28 BST
- Clarification questions by47 days ago7 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends40 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 128 days1 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 158 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Jul 2026- Pipeline notice published29 Jul 2026, 12:39 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published4 Aug 2026, 15:28 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active4 Aug 2026, 15:28 BST
- Procurement method changed4 Aug 2026, 15:28 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: All documents to support the PSQ and ITT will be issued via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP)
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender