Official UK procurement notice
Annual Festive Lights · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Manchester City Council (Local council)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis procurement is for Design & Provision of Manchester's Christmas Lighting Scheme.
The contract period will be for 5 years. It is intended for the contract to commence 07th November 2025.
The procurement encompasses the following lots:
Lot 1 - Core Lighting Scheme:
The Supplier will be required to install and maintain energy-efficient LED Lighting in existing tree locations as identified in Appendix I.
This lot also includes the provision of artistic high-quality motifs, fit with the city centre in existing column mounts, and the installation of artistic and dynamic displays in the existing fixing points on Deansgate and King Street as identified in Appendix I.
Suppliers will be asked to provide a scheme based on gold, silver and bronze options for each specific location.
The Bronze level package for an area will be at standard level provision, with options to upgrade the content to silver and gold.
MCC and partners will select the appropriate scheme for each individual location - and seek private sector sponsorship to upgrade key areas in line with stakeholder ambitions.
Lot 2 - Ground Level Feature Installations:
The Supplier will be required to provide creative solutions to install up to 8 ground level feature installations within Manchester city centre.
Lot 3 - New large Scale Santa Feature:
The Supplier will be required to design, manufacture, install, derig, store and maintain a new iconic Santa feature for Manchester, each year across the term of the 5-year
contract.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Mar 2030, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Christmas tree lights · Event services
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value (£1,950,000 together) · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Core Lighting SchemeAwardedPublished value£850,000
The Supplier will be required to install and maintain energy-efficient LED Lighting in existing tree locations as identified in Appendix I.
This lot also includes the provision of artistic high-quality motifs, fit with the city centre in existing column mounts, and the installation of artistic and dynamic displays in the existing fixing points on Deansgate and King Street as identified in Appendix I.
Supplier's will be asked to provide a scheme based on gold, silver and bronze options for each specific location
The Bronze level package for an area will be at standard level provision, with options to upgrade the content to silver and gold. MCC and partners will select the appropriate scheme for each individual location - and seek private sector sponsorship to upgrade key areas in line with stakeholder ambitions.
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents
Lot #2Ground Level Feature InstallationsAwardedPublished value£650,000
The Supplier will be required to provide creative solutions to install up to 8 ground level feature installations within Manchester city centre.
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents
Lot #3New large scale Santa FeatureAwardedPublished value£450,000
The Supplier will be required to design, manufacture, install, derig, store and maintain a new iconic Santa feature for Manchester, each year across the term of the 5-year contract
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents
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 (4)
- Quality: 60%
- Price: 10%
- Social Value: 20%
- Environment: 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- Quality: For the Quality Criterion suppliers will be scored on their responses to the relevant quality questions within the Tender Questionnaire. Suppliers must score at least a mean average score of 3 (i.e. Suppliers must score at least 36% out of the total 60% for the Quality Criterion) across the Quality criteria as a whole. Tenders that fail to meet this score threshold will not be considered further. The Council may also, at its discretion, exclude a tender that scores 0 or 1 on any individual criterion. Further details on the award criteria can be found within the procurement documentation.
- Social Value: Suppliers must self-certify that they and their subcontractors pay the Real Living Wage and do not operate zero hour contracts. Suppliers that fail to do this will be excluded and their tenders will not be considered further. For the Social Value Criterion suppliers will be scored on their responses to the relevant Social Value questions within the Tender Questionnaire. Further details on the award criteria can be found within the procurement documentation.
- Environment: For the Environment Criterion suppliers will be scored on their responses to the relevant Environment questions within the Tender Questionnaire. Further details on the award criteria can be found within the procurement documentation.
- Price: Suppliers are required to complete the Pricing Schedule within the procurement documentation for all lots they wish to tender for. The Price score will be calculated following the relevant methodology set out within the Award Criteria section of the ITT document. Suppliers that fail to complete and provide the Pricing Schedule, in full, for the relevant lot(s) applied for, will be excluded and their tenders will not be considered further.
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Mar 2030
- First published
- 22 Apr 2025, 10:15 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2025, 11:40 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 24 Jul 2025
- Authority reference
P-0336- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-016141- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050566Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 19 May 2025, 11:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 12 May 2025, 11:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
The Council is using the e-business portal known as the Chest. Applicants will need to register their details at the following link www.the-chest.org.uk ↗ . Once registered, applicants will be emailed a log-in and password which will allow them to gain access to the documentation relating to this opportunity.
Applicants will need to electronically submit their completed tender documents, including the procurement specific questionnaire, via the on-line portal by 11am on 19th May 2025 as referred to in the tender documentation. Any clarification queries must also be submitted via the Chest website by the date referred to in the tender documentation.
Timeline
22 Apr 2025 → 7 Nov 2025 · 8 dates- Tender notice published22 Apr 2025, 10:15 BST
- Clarification questions by12 May 2025, 11:00 BST
- Submission deadline19 May 2025, 11:00 BST
- Award decision expected by24 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent15 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends27 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published347 days ago3 Nov 2025, 11:40 GMT
- Contract starts343 days ago7 Nov 2025
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Apr 2025- Tender notice published22 Apr 2025, 10:15 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published15 Aug 2025, 16:20 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete15 Aug 2025, 16:20 BST
- Contract signature expected1 Sept 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published3 Nov 2025, 11:40 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Core Lighting Scheme1 award | |||
| MK ILLUMINATION (UK) LIMITEDSMEAnnual Festive Lights - Lot 1 Core Lighting Scheme7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030 | £757,827 | 15 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Ground Level Feature Installations1 award | |||
| MK ILLUMINATION (UK) LIMITEDSMEAnnual Festive Lights - Lot 2 Ground Level Feature Installations7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030 | £647,144 | 15 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
| Lot 3 · New large scale Santa Feature1 award | |||
| Blachere Illumination UK LimitedSMEAnnual Festive Lights - Lot 3 New large Scale Santa Feature7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030 | £449,950 | 15 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Annual Festive Lights - Lot 1 Core Lighting Scheme · MK ILLUMINATION (UK) LIMITEDSME
- Signed
- 7 Oct 2025
- Value
- £757,827
- Period
- 7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030
- Status
- active
No agreed KPIs: The contract value is less than £5 million including VAT.
Annual Festive Lights - Lot 2 Ground Level Feature Installations · MK ILLUMINATION (UK) LIMITEDSME
- Signed
- 7 Oct 2025
- Value
- £647,144
- Period
- 7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030
- Status
- active
No agreed KPIs: The contract value is less than £5 million including VAT.
Annual Festive Lights - Lot 3 New Large Scale Santa Feature · Blachere Illumination UK LimitedSME
- Signed
- 2 Oct 2025
- Value
- £449,950
- Period
- 7 Nov 2025 – 6 Nov 2030
- Status
- active
No agreed KPIs: The contract value is less than £5 million including VAT.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Core Lighting Scheme | 4final-stage tenders | 4 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Ground Level Feature Installations | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
| 3 · New large scale Santa Feature | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- BLACHERE ILLUMINATION UK LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- MK ILLUMINATION (UK) LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (9)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Technical specifications Please find the link to the CHEST advert to register an interest for this opportunity and access the ITT documents.
- Bidding documents and specificationsThe Council is using the e-business portal known as the Chest. Applicants will need to register their details at the following link www.the-chest.org.uk . Once registered, applicants will be emailed a log-in and password which will allow them to gain access to the documentation r…
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender